Another Door Opens
by CeredwenFlame
Summary: This is the Sequel to Sakura Dejavu. The story continues. I hope you like it. Please read and review.
1. Arrival

**I own nothing save my original character. Tite Kubo is the one who owns Bleach. I'm just doing this for my own enjoyment... **

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The bright white light soon blocked out the world she was leaving behind and parted before her to reveal the new one she was going to be joining. Soul Society... had you told her a few months ago that she would be ending up in this place - that it existed she would have thought you a bit crazy and avoided your presence... But here she was. So much had happened in the span of a few short months.

She was not clad in a kimono this time. She had on jeans and a t-shirt and tennis shoes. She looked every inch the modern girl she was in reality. Of course she didn't even have her Academy uniform yet so what she had was what she was bringing with her. It certainly earned her more than a few strange looks from those who'd been near the senkai gate when she'd emerged.

There was only one person she was hoping to see when the senkai gate opened for her to step out into Soul Society... However she did not see him and grew slightly worried... She did however catch sight of familiar red... She made her way over to the one person who seemed at all familiar. "Hello Lieutenant Abarai-san..." She says softly.

"You can call me Renji. The Captain sends his apologies, there was an emergency captain's meeting. He sent me to make sure you got through the gate okay. You can come back to the 6th squad and hang out until he gets out of the meeting." He says simply. She was relieved that she'd not been forgotten but she was worried by the fact that an emergency meeting had been called.

"Why was an emergency meeting called?" She asks as she follows him when he turns to head off back to the barracks.

"There was an attack... some Arrancar -that's a smarter, meaner, stronger Hollow. It attacked some shinigami stationed in the real world. Seems Aizen's making another bid to either draw us out or find a way to get his forces here. Hate to break it to you, but there's a war going on Nakayama-san and we're right in the middle of it." Renji says as he helps her with the other suitcase she'd been towing along behind her.

Smarter, meaner, stronger Hollow? That did not sound good at all. She blanched a little at the thought of it. Why did she choose to come here again? It would figure that it was just her luck to end up in the middle of a war. Still she had made her decision and she was not going to turn tail and run just because of this. She had been told about the traitors, she should have figured there was a lot more going on with such things. She should have asked more questions.

"Oi, you okay?" Renji asks.

She blinks coming out of her mental ponderings... "Oh sorry, yes I'm fine... I was just thinking..." She explains.

"Well, can't say I know where to put you exactly, so you can just stick around the office until the Captain gets back. I've got paperwork to finish but if you need somethin' just ask."

She nods, "Thank you Renji-san." She says with a polite bow.

He chuckles. "You're a lot like the Captain with that formal stuff you know." He muses.

"Thank you, I think." She says with a little chuckle. Renji noticed how much cuter she was when she was smiling. She didn't look so lost or sad... He just shrugs and settles back at his desk and starts working on the paperwork.

She arranges her things, putting them along one wall where they seemed like they would be out of the way. She tries to be quiet and stay out of the way, but she does notice the things to make tea and decides to make some for herself and Byakuya's lieutenant. When she's finished she brings him a cup and sets it on his desk. He looks up... blinking a little shocked that she made tea.

"Thanks." Comes the slightly gruff response. He wasn't upset or anything he just hated doing paperwork.

"I figured you might like a cup. And it did not make sense to bother you about it when I'm perfectly capable of making tea." She says softly with a slight chuckle and she takes her tea and sits down on one of the seats in front of Byakuya's desk. It would not be proper after all for her to sit behind it. Renji noticed how she seemed to avoid sitting at the desk even though Byakuya wasn't there. Girl sure was a lot more respectful than some people he could mention.

She grabs one of her bags and brings out her sketchbook and charcoals. She didn't know how long Byakuya was going to be so she might as well busy herself somehow and sketching was a decent enough way to pass the time. She sat there, thinking about what to draw and she decided that Byakuya's lieutenant was an interesting enough subject. She wondered idly if she'd have the ability to capture the tattoos...

So she sits there, leaning against Byakuya's desk, with the sketchbook in her lap. She looks up over the edge of it to take in the subject she's chosen. Of course she likely should have gotten permission from him but she did not see any harm in it. She captured Renji's side of the office... and she'd managed to capture him sitting there at his desk, bent over his work. She tried not to chuckle when he started muttering in frustration at a particular document...

Renji was very animated... which made him an interesting artistic subject. Byakuya was much more subtle and the nuances of the Captain were harder to discern and harder still to capture. She figured that Renji had ended up Byakuya's lieutenant because he was the man's opposite. She remembered how Byakuya had described him. Though he did not likely often agree with how spirited his lieutenant was, he was proud of the man's loyalty. It was interesting getting a glimpse into the world Byakuya was immersed in daily.

She was so immersed in her sketching she had not noticed someone enter the room. Renji had been silenced before uttering his customary greeting to his Captain. After all it would not do to interrupt the young woman who seemed so engrossed in whatever it was she was working on. Byakuya moved behind his desk and observed what she was working on. He was slightly surprised to see her sketching... He knew that she was artistic in nature, he did after all have a piece of her artwork in his private office. He just hadn't expected her to be sketching when he returned to his office at the 6th squad's barracks.

"You have quite the artistic eye, Nakayama-san." He says quietly so not to startle her completely. He had waited until she had paused in her sketching just to ensure he would not cause her to ruin her work. Mentally he chuckled as she jumped ever so slightly... She had to have been completely absorbed in her sketching to not even realize that he was there.

Renji watched the interaction. When Byakuya had raised a finger to his lips to signal him to silence he hadn't really questioned it. He knew better than to question his Captain. But it seemed like his Captain was almost being... playful. Especially with how he'd kept quiet and moved behind his desk... only to speak up and slightly startle the young woman. Of course Renji wasn't aware of just how mischievous and fiery his Captain had been once upon a time.

"Hello, Captain Kuchiki-san. Oh... umm... thank you." She says softly, blushing just a little. She wasn't really used to people watching her during the artistic process.

"What did you sketch, Nakayama-san?" Renji asks, curious now. He hadn't realized she was sketching... He'd been too lost in his own work.

She looks down... "Well... there isn't much... around here, in the office to sketch really. I... I know I should have asked, Renji-san... but..." She trails off as she turns the sketchbook around. Since she'd been called out about it she didn't see the sense in hiding it. Renji's eyes went wide with shock as he saw that she'd been sketching him...

He chuckles. "Don't apologize. Never been anyone's art subject before. Wish you hadn't caught me grumbling over paperwork though." He laughs.

She smiles. "You were just so animated and lively, even while working on paperwork...sorry."

He shrugs "It's alright, Nakayama-san, really I don't mind."

"You can have it if you want... I mean it's done..." She offers. "Call it an apology for not asking permission first." She says with a light chuckle...

He nods. "Fair enough. Thanks, Nakayama-san."

"Call me Erisia." She says with a soft smile as she hands the sketch over.

"Why don't you finish up what you have in front of you Renji and then call it a day." Byakuya suggests. It was almost 5 anyway.

"Thanks Captain." Renji says as he quickly wraps up his work, takes the sketch and gets out of the office before anyone can tell him to stop. His hasty exit has Erisia laughing.

"You'd think he was fearful you were going to change your mind." She says with a light chuckle.

"Usually we stay until the work is finished. Since he was kind enough to see you to the office I figured it was only fair that I allow him to leave early." Byakuya says simply. Eri nods, that made sense.

He looks over the papers on his desk. "After I finish this little bit of paperwork, I will show you where you will be staying until you go to the Academy." He says simply as he sits down and begins to go over the work. She just nods and decides to busy herself by sketching him. It was only fair since she'd sketched Renji at work.

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**Read and Review please and thank you.**


	2. Interaction

It did not take Byakuya long to finish the remaining paperwork. Once again, Erisia was engrossed in sketching. This time, her charcoals had caught him as the Captain at work. She had quickly captured the details from the things on his desk to the details of his kenseikan. Her eye was sharp and she'd been drawing for so long that she could recreate things quickly when she was of a mind to.

He sat there for a little bit just to watch her work. Her back was to him again as it seemed she preferred leaning against his desk. It afforded him the opportunity to see what she was working on. He could not help but be a little surprised and a little amazed at just how much detail her mind had captured and how quickly she'd recreated it. Such a skill would come in handy if she could apply it elsewhere in her life.

"I see you decided to even things out..." He muses once she's set aside her charcoal.

"Sketching seems to be my only way to pass the time at the moment. Of course if you would rather I not sketch you I will stop." She says softly, looking down. She had that habit he noticed. She was demure but not all the time... it was an interesting thing to him.

"It is fine Erisia-san. If I minded, you would know." He says simply. She was sure she would... he seemed to have an air about him when he was displeased... it wasn't something she ever wanted to experience. "Until we are able to get you settled in and get a few meetings with people who may be able to train you, I know there is not much for you to do."

"Who shall I meet with?" She inquires.

"I have given that matter some thought. I have a few lieutenants in mind to start with. Of course they may be busy and unable to help but you should meet with them regardless. If the lieutenants are otherwise occupied I did consider alternatives." He pauses... and something almost like a smile touches him... Not his lips but there was something akin to mischief in his eyes for the briefest of moments. Since Eri was looking right at him, she caught it. "Of course I can always order Lieutenant Abarai to help you. Which I may do regardless for the combat aspect of things. He spent time in the 11th squad and he has become quite adept. it will give him a break from the paperwork at any rate." He muses.

"Who else do you have in mind I would like to at least be familiar with names if I am to meet with people."

He liked that she was curious and that she wanted to know more about these people. It was good for her to want to know something more than just that she would be meeting people. "In respect to making you more familiar with kido, there is Lieutenant Hinamori of the 5th squad. Since her squad is captainless however which might mean that she will not have the time. Still I believe you two would get along well. She might relish the break and more interaction would be good for her." He begins.

"There is also Lieutenant Kira of the 3rd squad. Unfortunately his squad is also captainless at current. We are in a difficult time right now as I am sure has been explained to you."

She nods. "Yes, Uruhara-san mentioned it as did Renji-san. Soul Society is at war with former members of the protection squads."

He nods. "There are a great many people you should meet regardless of whether they can help you or not. Perhaps we should have you make rounds to all the squads at some point. Tessai-san mentioned that you took well to kido, which is why I thought we might want to have you meet with some members of the gotei 13 that are skilled in its usage. It is compulsory at the Academy, but not everyone masters it. Lieutenant Abarai can use it, but it does at times backfire on him. So do not think that you must master every class the Academy teaches..." He explains.

"Who else would be able to teach me kido? I would be grateful of course if the Lieutenants you have mentioned would be able to, but their duty is first to their squads, especially since they are the leaders of their squads right now and I would not want to be a bother." She says softly. Mentally he smiles. She was always thinking of others before her self. It reminded him of Hisana and the memory could not help but be bittersweet.

"Members of the 13th squad are all quite well versed in all aspects but seem to have a fondness for Kido... Perhaps, if my sister is not busy with missions in the real world, she could aid you. We have many options and we do have time before you attend the Academy. It is good that you want to busy yourself and to learn all that you can but you are not obligated to." He reminds her.

"I would hate to sit idle for so long. I can handle it for a day maybe two at the most. I have always tried to keep myself busy. I try to take breaks because rest is needed just as much, but sitting idle and I do not get along." She chuckles. "What is your sister like?"

"Rukia is very strong willed... but she has a very good heart. There are times when she reminds me very much of her sister whom I had the honor of calling my wife... However Rukia has a much more fiery spirit... at times she is like my lieutenant... But they did grow up together in Rukongai." he explains. He did not really know why he was telling her so much, it just seemed to slip out before he could school it back.

"If I might ask, what happened to your wife?" She asks softly. She had not known he was married. Of course there was a great deal she did not know. Perhaps she should have asked Yoruichi, the woman seemed all too happy to divulge information about Byakuya, but the things she had said did not match up with the image in her head and so she was more apt to believe that Yoruichi was messing with her head.

"Hisana had been forced to leave her sister behind... After we were married, she tried to find Rukia again. She had not been completely well and straining her body as she was, began to diminish her reiatsu. Slowly she began to fade away... until the sickness caught up with her. It was her last request that I find Rukia and give her the home that Hisana had not been able to provide." He says softly, solemnly.

There was that loss... she had only seen a glimpse of it once not long after first meeting him. Now she understood it. She rises up from her seated position and puts her hand over his. Of course she couldn't cover his hand completely, there was the small matter of the tekkou in her way, but the sentiment was hopefully conveyed. Were he anyone else she might have hugged him to try and comfort him... but this was all the more contact she felt would be allowable. She could not think of any words to say... but there was understanding in her eyes as she offered what meager comfort she could.

Profound things could be spoken in measured silences and meaningful glances. He knew that Erisia had lost her mother and that they had been quite close. While a different sort of love, she had loved her mother perhaps as much as he had loved Hisana. So the gentle touch to his hand and the understanding in her eyes, the kindness and warmth she was offering to him from those small gestures were taken in and understood completely. He merely nods to acknowledge her...

She offers him a small smile and then withdraws her hand. Never before had he noticed the chill in the room... but with her hand no longer covering his, the air felt chilled - at least to his hand. Erisia was once more mystified by the man before her. The cold, noble Captain was far more... Oh she had reason to suspect just from the little interaction she'd had with him in the real world, but to see behind the mask even for a moment... Revealed so much more. He had loved deeply and lost so much... and part of her wanted to heal that wound... That he had been willing to find his wife's sister and take her into his home... Regardless of the Stoic Captain facade his duty forced him to wear, there were signs that spoke of the man behind that mask. Still, she couldn't help but wonder just how many saw him hiding there in plain sight.

"We should continue our conversation elsewhere. I think we have both spent enough time in this office for one day." He says softly as he rises. "Let's get you settled into what will be your home until you attend the Academy." He says as he moves around to the front of the desk and offers a hand to help her stand - it was after all, the gentlemanly thing to do.

She takes the offered hand and rises to her feet. She nods and moves to get her things from where she'd tucked them off to the side. He allowed her to maintain the rolling suitcase, but took the other - larger case from her hand and began to walk, his pace slowed enough to allow her to keep up. He did not know how adept she was at shunpo yet but regardless she was likely not used to doing it while carrying something and it was a nice enough evening... Why not enjoy the walk?


	3. Overwhelmed

It was not until they had come much closer to his family's estate and much further from the barracks that Erisia began to wonder just where they were going. It wasn't that she was mistrustful, it was just that the scenery was changing and it was getting difficult to remember everything she'd passed. She was growing concerned about whether or not she'd be able to find her way back here... perhaps she should have left a trail of breadcrumbs. The thought made her chuckle, at least inside. "How much further is it?" She asks softly.

To answer her question, he pauses only long enough to gesture towards the rather large estate that had been in the Kuchiki family since time immemorial. It was situated on a slightly raised area of the landscape - not tall enough to be upon a hill, but it did make the home stand out just that much more. Erisia stopped in her tracks, blinking in shock and awe at the estate he had directed her attention towards. While she had known that he was a noble, her mind had never fully processed the information.

After all, she had been interacting with him primarily in the living world. While she had seen him in his shinigami form, in the context of the modern world the puzzle pieces did not quite click into place. It was not until this precise moment when the puzzle pieces blended together finally into the complete picture. She couldn't really even tell how large the place was from the vantage she had. It was just mind boggling. Perhaps she should have better thought this through. No offense to him... it was just that... this was too much - wasn't it?

Byakuya had only gone a few more steps before he realized that she was no longer following him. The wheels of her rolling suitcase had gone silent. He turns to see what has stalled her. "Is everything alright, Erisia-san?" He asks. He took in the image she presented... She was in a state of shock. Of course if he thought about it, she must be going through some kind of culture shock at the moment. She'd gone from living alone in a small, modern apartment to finding out that she would be staying in a more... traditional styled estate.

She doesn't move, doesn't look at him. It takes her a few heartbeats to wrap her head around everything enough to be able to respond. "You... live... here?" Comes the quietly awed question. She was still trying to process this... Perhaps after everything her ability to process information and adapt had finally broken. Or perhaps her brain was merely stalled and needed restarted. Who could say?

"I do, and until you begin attending the Academy, this will be your home as well." He says simply. His tone thankfully not betraying the amusement he felt. It had been so long since he'd last seen someone so immersed in something so innocuous... and her awe, her disbelief was something amusing. Erisia continued to struggle slightly with wrapping her head around that information. She was going to be living here?

Suddenly, she felt out of place. Absently she looked down at her jeans, t-shirt and tennis shoes and her rolling suitcase. She certainly did not look like she belonged near a place like this much less in it. Sure, she had a couple of kimono but she had only two and she couldn't wear them all the time. She felt like she should be dressed... more... appropriately for a place like this... Byakuya continued to observe her and took in everything. Finally, he crossed the small distance between them and put a hand upon her shoulder - in the hopes of breaking her out of the spell she'd fallen under.

"Come along Erisia-san, you can take as much time as you like to process all of this, once we are inside." He urges softly and if there was the slightest hint of amusement to his tone, well no one was around to hear it so it didn't really matter - right? Erisia slowly turned almost as if still in the trance the scenery and situation had put her in and then her eyes flickered to meet his and she nods... and then her gaze is once more down cast and she obediently begins to follow after him.

He shook his head almost imperceptibly - especially since she was no longer looking at him. Perhaps it was lost on him because he had grown up here. He did not know his life from before so it mattered little. With as long ago as that would have been the world was a very different place in her time than it would have been in the time he might have walked among the living as something other than a shinigami. He continues leading the way.

The servants present naturally greet him as they always do when he arrives home. He gives them the usual nod. He introduces them to Erisia though they had already been informed that she would be staying there. A slightly older woman approaches and offers a polite bow. "Erisia-san, this is Yuriko she will be available to assist you as you need. The Kuchiki Estate is quite large and until you get more familiar with it, she will be your guide." He explains. It was the gentler way of saying that the woman was to be Erisia's personal servant. After how she'd taken merely seeing the Kuchiki Estate, he thought it wiser to not come out and say that more directly.

Erisia smiles and offers a polite bow in return. "It is a pleasure to meet you Yuriko... thank you. Hopefully I will not get so hopelessly lost as to need rescuing." She says with a light chuckle. Compared to some of Byakuya's relatives, Erisia was a breath of pleasantly fresh air. Of course she'd never had a servant or anything like that so she wasn't the sort to treat the woman any differently than she would anyone else. He continues walking and leads her down a hallway to the room that would be hers for the duration of her stay.

"This will be your room. If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to let Yuriko know. She will make sure you have whatever you need." He says simply. Erisia nods and settles her little rolling suitcase in the very nice room... you could fit half of her apartment in this one room alone.

"Through that door is the bath... your room has its own private one." He informs her. She just kind of blinks at that. Okay very nice place, too nice a place, nicer than any place she'd ever even set foot near let alone in... Calm down Eri... freak out later. Learn the lay of the land now... She wrestled her wildly running mind back under control just as Byakuya began walking again. He pointed out various places of interest in the home... Including gesturing towards the vicinity of his private quarters...

He pointed out the library and his sister's room. He paused at his private office and the door was opened as one of the servants had been cleaning it and the floor needed to dry completely - which afforded her a glimpse inside the room itself. She was a little surprised to see the wall scroll she had painted displayed on the wall behind his desk... He continued the tour until they had made at least a cursory run of the entire place. "As I said if you need help finding your way around and I am not here, Yuriko will assist you."

"This is all so much to take in. Do you have a map?" She asks with a light chuckle. She was trying to deflect some of how overwhelmed she felt by laughing about the situation. He seemed to recognize this because his eyes softened ever so slightly.

"You will settle in and you will learn your way around before you know it." He says with the slightest smile in his tone. He had after all seen the impressive evidence of her adaptability. She was here after all. She just nods. One of the other servants informs them that dinner is ready and he leads her back to the dining room.

"I do not know how I will ever repay your kindness..." Erisia says softly, looking down again. She did not know why entirely, but there was something about this place that just made her feel a little bit graceless. Her modern attire almost felt vulgar in comparison to the traditional finery that was the Estate itself.

"Erisia-san, as I have said before, all you need do is make it through the Academy and become the shinigami you were meant to be." He reminds her. It was easier to say this than to say any of the myriad other things that were dancing around the back of his mind at the edges of it... He could not indulge such thoughts and almost adamantly refused to. She nods and focuses on dinner. The food was far better than anything she'd had in a long time.

"This is very good." She comments. "I haven't had food like this since my mother passed away." She hadn't meant to say the words... She'd been trying to avoid such bittersweet topics... but it just seemed to have a habit of slipping out. She was nowhere near as good at schooling things away inside herself as Byakuya was.

"Do you have any foods you prefer... or any food sensitivities?" He asks. If she was going to be staying here they did need to know this information.

She shakes her head. "I have never been fussy... and I have no allergies that I know of." She replies. She had no real aversions to food. Of course there were some things she preferred but she wasn't about to comment as to those at this moment in time. She was going to try to be as unobtrusive as possible. She felt like she was imposing enough as it was.

"Would you like to be awakened when I rise for the day or would you prefer one day to sleep in? If you wish to accompany me back to the 6th squad barracks tomorrow I will see if I can set up some meetings for you if you like. If you would however like a couple of days to settle in no one would blame you."

She ponders his question. "I would feel more comfortable having things to do. But I do not wish to be in your way or impede your work. You have already helped me so much as it is..." Her worlds trail off. Mentally he sighed. While normally he wouldn't have minded such an attitude, it seemed an ill fit for her for some reason. He did not know why it bothered him, but it did. Sadly however, he was by no means versed well enough in such matters to address such a thing...

"It is no imposition. If you would like to get started right away, I will make sure Yuriko wakes you. A small warning though, I do rise early."

She chuckles at that. "I usually get up not long after the sun. It is something I've been doing since I was little... ever since I accidentally woke early one morning and saw my mother watching the sun come up. It's a small way of keeping her with me. Every morning mom and I still watch the sun... even if I'm a little later than the gray haze of predawn." She chuckles...

Once again he was left to marvel at how open she was. He knew that it had to be bitter in some ways for her. But that she maintained it even after her mother had passed on... He forced himself to stop thinking of such things before his own memories came unbidden to the surface. "At least you will not have trouble adjusting to the schedule at the Academy." He comments.

She nods. "I stand out... don't I? I mean... everyone is dressed... similarly... and here I am... dressed like I'm still in Karakura." She begins... She was trying to deal with something that was making her feel odd and maybe if she had access to something that would help her visually blend in more then maybe she wouldn't feel so awkward.

"It bothers you?" He asks. He didn't understand why it would. It was known by enough people her situation. No one would look down upon her for it. Still he supposed that if he had to go around Soul Society clad in what was on his gigai that he might feel... strange. Once more he was reminded of how much a culture shock this had to be for her.

"I just feel... out of place. I won't have my uniform for the Academy for a little while yet and I probably shouldn't really wear that around here anyway... because I'm not at the Academy yet." She explains. "It might help me adjust better or faster at least... I mean I've worn kimonos and such before so the wearing of it isn't the problem... though I can't say I've worn anything quite like what everyone else around the squad barracks is wearing." She says with a small sigh.

"I will speak with my sister if nothing else she would most likely be more than willing to loan you a shihakusho or two until we can procure you some of your own things."

"No one will think ill of me for wearing such will they? I mean... I'm not a shinigami yet... I don't want to upset anyone."

"No one will be upset... and there are other things than the shihakusho as well... Things that will not stand out as much as your jeans and t-shirts do."

"Alright then... I just don't want to offend people by dressing as something I want to become but have not yet attained..."

"You will be fine, Erisia-san."

"I hope so." She says softly...

"I will go make the call to my sister... Do try to become more comfortable here, Erisia-san..." He says as he rises and offers her a slight bow and goes to his office...

As he retreats she cannot help but think that she might never become truly comfortable in a place like this...


	4. Morning

The rest of the evening passed without consequence. Erisia however still found herself trying to mentally adjust. It was proving to be a little easier said than done. Finally, she resigned herself to the bath and then made herself lay down to at least attempt sleep. It was always a little strange trying to sleep in an unfamiliar place - at least the first night. What time it was when she finally fell asleep, she didn't know.

Morning came and Yuriko had brought one of Rukia's shihakushos in and laid it out while Erisia was in the private bath. Eri emerged and noticed it laid out for her and tried to figure out just how everything went on. As she perused the articles she noticed a distinct lack of anything resembling familiar undergarments. Thankfully, that was one thing she'd made certain to bring with her... It was going to be hard enough adjusting to this place as it was... she didn't need to feel... half naked in the process.

Yuriko knocked and asked if she needed any help. She was at least halfway covered and didn't need much help. Who was she kidding? She was covered yes, but she was certainly not sure whether or not she'd done half of this correctly. A kimono was one thing - that was at least familiar... this, was a bit of a different story. She let her appointed aid in to the room. Yuriko quickly got her sorted out and every last piece of the shihakusho situated correctly.

"This is going to take some getting used to." Erisia says with a small sigh.

"You will get it soon enough, Erisia-san. Byakuya-sama explained enough of the situation so that I would be able to help you adjust. I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you. You did well though for having no real experience with such garments." Yuriko says softly. She had tried to speak more properly of Erisia but the girl had quickly corrected her but at least Erisia left the addition of an honorific go. Though from what Yuriko knew of the girl, she was certain she wasn't used to anyone referring to her as anything more formal.

In truth, formality was the furthest thing from Erisia's mind. She was always polite but this kind of formality - the kind afforded to nobles. Well it was certainly going to take quite a lot of getting used to. The staff at the Estate was just something she should have been prepared for but hadn't really let her mind think about... There was so much going on that she was almost eager to get out and get to some kind of work so she could put off thinking about it. She would have to process it all eventually but right now, she just couldn't bring herself to try. She didn't want to have a headache on her first full day here in Soul Society.

Erisia was next debating whether or not to go with the tabi... and while she had worn them before, she wasn't overly fond of them. She'd rather have her feet bare. Maybe it was strange but to her, sandals and socks were just a strange combination. She had entertained the idea of donning her tennis shoes - traditional footwear be damned but if this was part of the Academy uniform, she was going to have to get used to it at some point... So she was going to at least try the sandals.

Once Erisia was finished in her room, Yuriko led her to the dining area. Byakuya was of course already there and he was reading over a report as he sipped some tea. Breakfast was waiting on Erisia's arrival. He had thought that it would take her a little longer to get ready, considering how unlikely it was that she'd ever donned anything like a shihakusho before. Yuriko must have helped her considering how soon Erisia had arrived. He looked up as she settled at the table. Rukia's uniform wasn't quite the right size for Erisia, but Yuriko had managed to make it work rather well despite that.

"I trust you slept well?" He asks...

Erisia nods. "Much better than I normally sleep the first night in somewhere new." She says softly. "Please thank your sister for me when next you speak with her."

"I will do better than that. I will call her later and you can thank her yourself. Though I do warn you, Rukia is quite curious about you now." He muses.

Breakfast was passed with light banter... polite small talk was something Byakuya did not normally indulge in, but sitting there in absolute silence with someone seated across from you was a little strange even to him and he could only imagine how odd it felt to her. While she brushed off any inquiries into any discomfiture, he had to wonder just how true they were. She'd only been here a day after all still, since there was no imminent danger to her he chose to let it go... With women, no matter the situation or the woman involved, always pick your battles wisely. It was something his grandfather had mentioned to him once upon a time. If only he could learn to do that where Yoruichi was concerned... but that damned demon cat was another matter all together. At least the demon cat was in the real world and not as likely to bother him here and now.

"I will send a message to Lieutenant Hinamori and see if she can at least spare some time to speak with you. If she can, I will make sure someone leads you safely to the 5th squad barracks. Depending on how long the meeting takes and the results of it, we may set up another."

She nods. "Thank you again for all of this help..." She says softly.

"What is bothering you?" He asks. She was definitely not well versed in hiding anything emotion wise, of course even if she was trying, her reiatsu was giving her away.

"I... it..." She pauses shaking her head. She hadn't been expecting to get called out about it. Of course she should have known better - shouldn't she have. "I do not want you to think that I am ungrateful because I am not... I... I suppose that I am simply not used to... someone wanting to help me.. After my mother passed away, I found myself alone in the world. What few acquaintances I had were merely that. People I worked on college stuff with and little more. Also, you've gone above and beyond... and I just... don't understand why. I mean... I'm ... I'm no noble, certainly... I'm..." Her words failed her and she was left looking at the table, shaking her head.

This was treading dangerously close to territory he would rather face flash tag with Yoruichi than cross into... Yet, the turmoil within the heart of the young woman before him was radiating off of her in waves he could not just ignore. There was also how her words had trailed off at the end that left a distinct impression that there was an I'm not worthy in that awkward silence. While she had adapted previously at a fairly rapid pace it seemed that she had reached a limit. Or perhaps this is simply where her skills at hiding everything had finally run thin.

So how best to address this? He was quiet long enough to give the matter proper thought without taking so long that her worries would only deepen. Finally he had come up with something resembling an acceptable answer. "Erisia-san, this is not a matter of nobility. Please put that concern out of your mind. You are to become a fellow shinigami. You will come to learn that we try to take care of our own. This is a courtesy extended among fellows. Out there in the seireitei, nobility matters little... what matters more is being sworn to protect the same things." He explains.

Of course there was more to it than that, but he dare not speak of such things - it was hardly appropriate after all. Though there were times when he looked at her and saw the Empress's symbol flash before him as it had in the dreams that had preceded meeting her. There were other times when something in her manner or her words would bring back memories of Hisana... All of these things could not be afforded right now. He had to push all that away. He was noble... there was no room in that world for feelings of any sort. He had learned that lesson the hard way. Someone should point out to him that he'd already begun to disregard that notion in regards to the young woman seated across from him.

She processes what he says and his words leave her nodding. Though the weight had not fully been lifted from her shoulders, the burden of such weighty thoughts had been eased. For now, that would have to do. Breakfast is finished and cleared. "We should be on our way, Erisia-san." He says as he rises from the table. She moves to rise as well.

"How far had your shunpo lessons with Yoruichi-san progressed?" He asks.

She blinks at the question. "I can do it, I'm not the greatest at it... but I don't fall on my face anymore... if that helps." She offers with a little almost nervous chuckle.

"I will not go as fast as I am able to go, but let us test it. We should get you used to traveling in that manner as you will find it helpful later." He explains...

She nods and with that, they are off. He was impressed to find that she wasn't nearly as slow at it as she'd made him believe with her deprecating words. As much as he was loath to admit it, Yoruichi was quite a good teacher - at least where shunpo was concerned... It took them half the time to get to the 6th squad barracks that it would have taken them had they walked. Erisia was a little winded but other than that she looked fine.

"You will get used to the exertion as you learn to pace yourself more and build up your stamina for such things. Sit and relax it would not do well to overtax yourself." He coaxes. She drops into one of the seats before his desk...

He summons a hell butterfly to relay the message to Hinamori. Erisia looks at the black butterfly with a look of confusion mixed with what he was sure was her artist's eye... "What is that?" She asks.

"A hell butterfly. We can use them to send messages between captains and lieutenants." He explains briefly as the black butterfly flits off to relay the message.

"Now all there is to do is wait for Lieutenant Hinamori to respond."

She nods and then is distracted when the door opens and a very... rough looking Renji enters... "Is something the matter, Renji-san?" She asks.

Bleary eyes turn to her. "Long night." He says simply...

Byakuya raises a brow at this. "Lieutenant Matsumoto dragged you into the weekly gathering I take it?"

Renji looks down. "Yeah." He mutters as he sits at his desk... "Feels like I've got Yachiru bouncing around in my head." He sighs.

"Perhaps you should not have indulged so much then?" Byakuya suggests, his tone relatively indifferent if perhaps a little chiding.

Erisia was starting to put things together... She was always uncomfortable with the subject of alcohol consumption... She wished she had her sketchbook - something she could lose herself in, at least for a little while... so she didn't have to think about this and have it dredge up past fears. Renji seemed nice enough... She didn't want to think badly of him... but alcohol... mental shudder.

A black butterfly flitted in the open window and over to Byakuya. He opened his hand to allow it to land on his palm... "Hinamori can meet with you... in half an hour." He relays. He looks to his Lieutenant... The man was not going to get any work done in his current state.

"Lieutenant, why don't you make sure Erisia-san gets to the 5th squad barracks without getting lost and wandering into places best left unexplored... You can stop at the 4th along the way and pick up one of Captain Unohana's remedies... Then perhaps you'll actually be able to accomplish getting some of that paperwork done."

"Yes Captain." Is all Renji says to that. Erisia wasn't sure how she felt about Renji leading her off now... but she would have to deal with such things sooner or later so it was best to just deal with it now - right? Now the only question was, what would she do until it was time to leave?


	5. Meeting Momo

Soon it was time to head to the 5th squad barracks. Renji noticed that Erisia seemed... nervous. Once they were clear of the barracks, Renji looked to see if she relaxed - she hadn't. "Somethin' the matter Erisia-san?" He asks. She looked down. There wasn't really anything wrong, she just didn't feel comfortable knowing Renji drank. It brought back memories of her father and how she'd gotten the greater majority of the scars she had. Of course her reaction clicked something for Renji.

"Did I do something to upset you?" He asks.

Erisia could only sigh... "No, not really... It... it's probably silly." She says quietly.

"What is it?" He inquires.

"I... I have never been comfortable around alcohol or people who drink. Too many bad memories."

"What happened?"

"My father was a very different man when under the influence of alcohol. Sober he was a typical businessman maybe not warm but he wasn't a horrible father... when he was sober." She pauses. "Drunk was another story altogether. I still have scars even though he's been dead since I was ten or so." She explains in a quiet tone, her voice barely carrying to where Renji was standing.

While it wasn't his fault, Renji still kind of felt like an ass. She had a legitimate reason to be wary of people who drank and he certainly hadn't made a good impression this morning. He couldn't change that, but maybe he could soothe her perceptions. Show her that not everyone was going to be like her dad... maybe.

"Sorry you went through something like that." He says in a gruff but quiet tone - typical Renji. She nods. They pause for Renji to stop in at the 4th squad to pick up the hangover remedy. He emerges with the bottle in hand and a rather amusing look on his face.

"Kami that stuff is nasty." He mutters and the look on his face just makes Erisia chuckle.

"We're not like that you know." He comments.

"Huh?" Erisia was confused.

"Not a one of us. Not even Ikkaku and he likes to fight as much as anyone else from the 11th. But not a one of us would ever hurt a woman no matter how drunk we got. The only women we fight with are those damned Arrancar."

She just looks at him... blinking and not quite sure what to say about it all.

"Good thing that bastard isn't still around though..." His words trail off.

She figured he meant her father. "Why is that?" She asks.

"If he was, I know a few guys that wouldn't mind teaching him a lesson... of the really painful variety. We don't generally take too kindly to abusive assholes. Sure, there are some real jerks around here, same as in the Living World... But I think it's safe enough to say that all the seated members of the gotei 13 would never act that way or allow it to continue if they saw it."

Despite herself, Eri found herself smiling. Renji might be a bit rough around the edges but he seemed nice. He certainly believed very strongly in the words he was speaking and that helped a lot. "Thank you for the sentiment, Renji-san."

"Come on, let's go see Momo." He says with that lopsided smile of his as he continued to lead the way. Erisia nods and follows, and she doesn't seem as nervous anymore. It doesn't take too long before they arrive at the barracks of the 5th squad. Renji looks at the shinigami assigned to gate duty and nods. "Momo's expecting us." He says simply.

He leads Eri through to the office. He knocks before opening the door. "Hey Momo." Renji calls out as they enter.

"Good morning Lieutenant Abarai." Comes her gentle voice.

Renji rolls his eyes. "How many times do I gotta tell you Momo, it's just Renji. We went to school together for Kami's sake. There's no need to be so formal." He chides her with a laugh... He was treading a little carefully, making his joke a bit more blatant than he might have once upon a time. Momo had good days and bad days... On the good days she was almost like her old self again. On the bad days one wrong word could send her into a nearly catatonic state. Most days though, Momo just was nothing more and nothing less.

She looked tired... but she did try to smile. She just hadn't been the same since Aizen's betrayal. She had recovered physically from nearly being killed by her former Captain, but there were days when her friends couldn't help but wonder if she would ever recover mentally. Renji steps into the office fully and once Erisia's within, he shuts the door behind her.

"This, is Erisia-san. That's the most formal she'll let you be. Somethin' about her even has the Captain calling her Erisia-san." He laughs. Momo just blinks at that...

"Are you sure your captain is feeling well?" She inquires a little smile actually in her voice.

"You'll see once you start talking to her. Much as I'd love to stay, I gotta get back before the Captain has a chance to put too much more paperwork on my desk. When you two are done talking Momo, send a hell butterfly and I'll come lead Eri back to the 6th." Renji says and then offers a quick goodbye to the girls and slips out.

"So what is it I can help you with, Erisia-san?" Momo asks.

"I understand that you may not have a lot of free time and I do not want to impose. However, I have time until the new term for first year students of the Academy begins and I have never been one to sit idle. Captain Kuchiki suggested that I see if some members of the gotei 13 would be willing to show me some of the things that I will be learning at the Academy. He has been kind enough to set up some meetings for me." She explains.

"Well I may be able to help but what did you have in mind?"

"Captain Kuchiki mentioned that you were exceptionally proficient at kido. I do have a little experience with it thanks to a few people in the Living World and I was told that I seem to have a knack for it. So if you would be so kind as to help expand upon that I would be most grateful. I do not have much to offer, but as I learn my way around perhaps I could run a few errands for you to repay you for your time." Erisia offers.

The fact that Erisia who was very new here was willing to offer an exchange of some sort instead of just expecting help spoke well for the girl. There was something about her nature... Of course those thoughts quickly gave way to the rest of the girl's words. The only people capable of teaching the shinigami arts in the living world were at Uruhara's shop. So that naturally meant that the young woman before her had been learning from Tessai-san. Exiled or not, the man had still been the head of the Kido Corps... If he thought she had a knack for it then she should certainly continue training.

So Momo began to ponder what to do. "Why don't we arrange to meet after the work day is finished. I will see what you have learned already and from there determine how much help I can be and we can decide how much time to put into this... As you said you will be asking others to aid you as well. If we are even doing only one session a week that is still more than most prospective students have access to. So it will allow you to retain what you have learned already at the very least. As for helping run some errands, learning your way around would also be beneficial to you. If you truly wish to help, I do have two things you can do for me. Do you know how to get to the 4th squad and 10th squad barracks?" Momo inquires.

"That sounds most fair, Lieutenant Hinamori... thank you for even considering my request." She says with a polite bow... Which put Momo in the mind of Renji's captain... Some people were just naturally formal. "I do know where the 4th Squad is, Captain Kuchiki made certain to inform me of its location. If I go back to the 6th squad first I can make my way to the 10th squad as well. Though I was only given a brief tour I do remember where almost everything I was shown is." She explains.

Momo smiles. "Alright then." She pulls out two folders. "This one needs to be returned to Captain Unohana. I would do it myself but since you have offered, it will allow me to finish more of the paperwork. The other folder, the wintergreen one needs to be returned to Captain Hitsugaya." Momo explains.

Eri carefully takes both folders and rises, offering a polite bow. "Thank you again Lieutenant Hinamori." Erisia says with a smile. Momo offers her a smile in return. "You may call me Momo."

Renji had been right there was something about this girl... just her nature... It was so strange and a stark contrast to those who had betrayed so many... Erisia took her leave and began to walk back towards the fourth squad to drop off the first folder.


	6. Healing Tea

Finding the 4th squad barracks again was easy. Thanks to her artistic mind, Eri had a knack for details. They had spent just enough time here for her to have learned enough to make her way back. The fact that it was centrally located didn't hurt matters either. At least she'd be able to find her way back to one familiar place at least, should she get lost. She really hoped she didn't. She would hate to trouble anyone by making them have to look for her.

She made her way past the front gate with the folders clutched to her chest. One of the guards stopped her of course. Since she did not appear injured they had to ask what her business with the 4th squad was. It was after all, a time of war and with one of their own having betrayed them, everyone was more on guard. Eri didn't mind though, she understood well enough. "Lieutenant Hinamori asked that I return this folder back to Captain Unohana." She explains with a polite bow and smile.

"You're that young woman Captain Kuchiki brought by the other day." The man muses.

"Yes."

"I'll go inform Captain Unohana that you are here." He says as he gives a polite bow and moves off to fetch the captain. Not long after the guard returned and Eri could see Unohana following behind him. The older woman smiles.

"Everything is well I trust, Nakayama-san?" Unohana asks in that gentle voice of hers.

"It is, thank you for asking Captain Unohana-san." Eri says as she bows to the woman.

Unohana smiles. "You have something for me?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Hinamori asked that I return this to you." She says as she holds out the blue folder.

"Thank you Nakayama-san. I am curious however as to why you delivered it."

"Oh well I offered to help her out a little since she is going to be so kind as to teach me some kido." Erisia explains. "I cannot do much as I am still learning my way around but by delivering things for her, I help her and I get the opportunity to become more familiar with this place." Eri explains.

"I see. Do you have time to join me for a cup of tea, Nakayama-san?"

"I would not want to impose but if you insist I would be honored to join you."

Unohana cannot help but smile more at the girl's reaction… so polite. "I do insist." The healer affirms and turns fully expecting Erisia to follow her. Of course Erisia is a young woman well versed in subtle, unspoken expectations thanks to some schooling she'd received while living in the household of a certain Captain and is following quickly behind the Healer.

Once they are seated and the tea poured Unohana turns her attention on the young Shinigami in training. "If I may inquire, why are you seeking lessons?"

"Well there is time before the next first year term starts at the Academy and I have never been one to sit idle. While I suppose I could spend time sketching and painting, I feel that my energies would be better used if I worked towards gaining at least some foundation in the Shinigami arts. I know that not many new students have the opportunity but I may and I would feel wasteful if I did not at least attempt to accept these opportunities as they are offered. Captain Kuchiki has been very kind and gracious in setting up a few meetings with some people who may be able to assist me, and even if it is only one day a week, I would be most grateful and honored to learn anything these people wish to teach me."

Unohana was coming to learn a lot about this young woman. She had a good heart and an apt mind and though she was certain the girl was daunted by the tasks before her, she was still pursuing them with reverence and respect. Something that was not always found in these younger generations…. Unohana smiled. "That is very wise of Captain Kuchiki. May I assume then that you will be finding teachers for sword fighting, hand to hand combat and the various other things you may be required to learn at the Academy?

Erisia nods. "Yes ma'am. Captain Kuchiki has been pondering having his lieutenant show me some basic sword fighting. I do not yet know who he has in mind for hand to hand. However as he takes his time to consider people who might be able to help me I will honor his time spent and speak with anyone he sets up a meeting for me with."

"Have you any interest in learning healing, Nakayama-san?"

Erisia pondered that question. Her expression went thoughtful which was one more thing that Unohana found to like about the girl. She was already so dedicated and she hadn't even reached the Academy yet. "It would be wisest to have at least a basic knowledge of it in my estimation. If I show any skill at it, then it would be wise to foster that skill." Erisia answers. Her answer was logical and thought through, which pleased Unohana.

"Would you like to learn healing kido then, Nakayama-san?" Unohana inquires.

Erisia bows politely. "I would be honored to learn it Captain Unohana-san."

"When will Lieutenant Hinamori be teaching you kido?"

"She has requested to meet with me when the work day has finished so she can determine what I have already learned from my teacher in the Living World."

"Then I will arrange to have someone begin training you in healing kido after the work day has ended.. tomorrow, if that is alright with you?"

"You are most generous Captain Unohana-san. Thank you. If there is something I can help you with please do not hesitate to ask."

"I believe that all Shinigami should at least learn basic healing kido. It is therefore my duty as the head of the Healing Division to see to it that for someone willing to learn, a teacher is made available especially in this time of war. In battle one person knowing basic healing kido can mean the few extra moments needed to save a life if a healer cannot get there directly." Unohana explains.

Erisia nods, it made a lot of sense. Sometimes people were hurt badly and could not get to help quickly. Someone how has basic first aid knowledge while they may not be able to help in the healing process would be able to stop blood flow or do other small things that would buy the injured person precious time they would not have otherwise. "Then it will be my honor to learn so that I may be of as much help as I can be."

Unohana smiled. "I believe that my 7th seat, Hanataro Yamada will be a good teacher. He is very skilled and I believe that you two will get along which I believe helps the process along. I will be expecting you after the work day has ended tomorrow. Now I believe that Lieutenant Hinamori had another file she wished for you to deliver and I must return to my own duties. Good day to you Nakayama-san."

"Thank you Captain Unohana-san and a good day to you as well." Erisia says as she rises and bows respectfully to the woman before departing after picking up the folder she still had to deliver to the Captain of the 10th squad.


	7. Meeting the Dragon

It took her a little bit to find the tenth squad's barracks, but eventually she found her way. Perhaps she should have stopped by the 6th or at least asked someone to send a hell butterfly to inform them that she was fine... but such a thing had oddly slipped her mind. She was stopped at the gate and after explaining what she was doing there, she was led to the office. It was an odd sight - not the Captain at his desk, that was normal enough. What was strange was the woman draped across the couch in front of it with a Lieutenant's badge on her sash and a pink stole draped around her. She looked half asleep and it didn't help that she appeared to be on the verge of ... escaping her top. It left Erisia blinking trying to process the odd scene.

The white haired Captain looked up as Eri was led in and she was taken off guard by how young he looked. "Who are you?" Comes a rather stern voice from that same young seeming individual.

She bows politely, "Erisia Nakayama at your service Captain Hitsugaya-san."

A brow arches as he regards her. She feels suddenly as though she's being watched and not just on the level that the Captain is watching her. There's another feeling, a weightier presence she cannot explain. "You're that girl Captain Kuchiki rescued - right?"

"Yes sir." Erisia says softly. At this, Matsumoto opened her eyes to see this talked about rescued girl. Didn't look like much, barely a wisp of a girl. Mentally she shrugged and continued to recline, pretending to be dozing.

"What is it you need, Nakayama-san?"

"Oh, Lieutenant Hinamori asked if I would deliver this to you so that she could continue her paperwork." Eri says as she approaches his desk and holds the folder out to him. He takes it.

"Thank you." He says simply.

Suddenly, Matsumoto rose from her seat and began to fuss around Erisia. She bombarded the poor girl with a barrage of questions that left Eri's mind reeling. There was also an offer of sake in there, which Eri vehemently and a bit sharply, declined. In the eyes of her Captain, Matsumoto was behaving rudely and the fact that the poor young woman seemed quite intimidated did not sit well either.

"That is enough Matsumoto."

"But Captain..." she protested.

He picked up a stack of folders. "Deliver these to the 12th squad."

"Captain..." Matsumoto whined. She hated going near that place... it was creepy.

"Now." Came the stern reply and the temperature in the room dropped noticeably as his displeasure and annoyance rose. Once the woman was gone, Eri looked at Hitsugaya.

"I mean no offense... but... is she always like that?:

"Unfortunately, yes."

"You have my condolences, Sir." Eri says quietly. Hitsugaya cannot help the barest hint of amusement that crosses his lips at that.

"She's really not all bad. She is probably one of the most loyal people I know. You just have to know how to handle her." He says with a shrug, still working on his paperwork. He does pause however, "So why did Momo send you?" He asks.

"Well I offered. I thought it was only fair since she is going to be so kind as to teach me some kido. I may not be able to do much right now, but I know my way around a little and I can at least run a few meager errands." She explains.

Well that explained that. He continues his paperwork, mulling over things in his head. He was quite adept at multitasking. He might have dismissed her were he not so curious.

"You seemed awfully sharp in how you declined Matsumoto's offer to drink... Is there any particular reason?" He asks. It was after all strange. She was so gently spoken and yet at the merest suggestion of alcohol there was quite a bit of venom suddenly.

She looks down. "Let it simply say that in my life, there were enough bad experiences to sour me to even the very idea of it. Due to those... circumstances I have sworn to refrain from partaking."

~ It would seem that she had the misfortune of having a violent man in life during her formative years. ~ Came the dragon's voice... Elaborating on the things the girl had not spoken... Of course this knowledge struck that noble cord within Hitsugaya and the temperature dropped drastically. Erisia began to shiver at the sudden chill.

Nudged by the dragon within his soul, he realized what he'd done. "Sorry."

"For what?" Eri inquires, confused.

"The chill you felt. It was my fault. I was not suppressing my reiatsu enough."

"How does... that?" Her question trails off.

"My zanpakuto is the strongest ice type. Thus the cold is my domain. When I fail to control my reiatsu the ice leaks out..." He explains.

"Oh... I did not know such things happened."

He chuckles ever so slightly. "You still have a lot to learn. This is all very new to you after all."

She nods. "I suppose I do."

Hyourinmaru nudged him again and spoke of the shadow cat that was watching them all from a safe vantage point.

"Do you know anything of yours?" Hitsugaya inquires.

"I have seen the shadow panther in my dreams..."

"Yes, it seems yours will be a shadow type."

"Aside from my speaking of a shadow panther, how is it you know?"

He gestures to his sword. "Hyourinmaru told me."

"You speak with your sword?"

"Of course. I have heard his voice since long before I became a shinigami. I count him among my most trusted friends. Hearing the voice of your zanpakuto is the beginning of unlocking its true potential and your own." He explains. "Have you heard yours yet or merely seen its image in dreams?"

"I have. Kumori was trying to guide me in my dreams... and after the attack that brought me to this point, well... He had said if we got through it that he would tell me his name. While I was killed, I suppose we did get through it... and he kept his word." She answers.

"You know his name already." Hitsugaya was impressed.

"Has he told you anything else?"

"No... he says that I am not ready for more yet. But he has encouraged me to keep training and to keep speaking with him."

"Wise words. You would do well to heed them. If you remain open to the connection with your zanpakuto it will guide you well. Remember that it is part of your soul... Some people have closed themselves off to their zanpakuto. They cannot hear its voice and do not feel the absence." He muses as he signs another paper.

"Thank you for your own wise words, Captain Hitsugaya-san. I should leave you to return to your work... and the remains of whatever quiet peace you have before your Lieutenant returns. I should return to the 6th. I did not tell them I was going to be running errands. I hope no one has been worried." She chuckles.

He smiles at that. "Captain Kuchiki is aware of your being sidetracked."

"Oh?"

"Aside from him being a very intelligent man. Senbonzakura and Hyourinmaru have been talking..."

"And since Senbonzakura knows, Captain Kuchiki knows?"

"Correct. Just remember to go right on your way out. It will keep you from having to go near the 12th division."

"Thank you Captain Hitsugaya. If you would like... someone other than your Lieutenant to talk to at least in this time before I go to the Academy... I would be most happy to oblige you." She says with a bow. He nods and she departs, turning right out of the gate to head back to the 6th squad.


	8. A Lesson Learned

It took her a little while and two wrong turns before she finally found herself in 'familiar' territory yet again. Thankfully the second wrong turn had put her back at the 4th Division and from there it was easy to get herself back on the correct path. She made her way to the office, pausing only a moment to watch some of the squad members going through their forms.

While Senbonzakura and Byakuya were informed of what had kept Erisia, that did not mean that it was okay that she had gone off unescorted and without informing her keepers as it were. Renji had not been so informed as Zabimaru did not speak to Senbonzakura unless absolutely necessary... and Hyourinmaru always made Zabimaru's fur stand on end thanks to the cold so it tried to limit contact with that sword as well.

Byakuya was going to simply wait for Erisia to return and then address the situation. Renji who'd noticed the passage of time had decided to inquire after Erisia. He'd sent a hell butterfly to Momo only to have the return reply state that Eri had left quite some time ago. Well if she'd left where the hell was she? It was just as Renji was getting ready to make up some excuse to go look for her that she walked through the office door.

"Where have you been?" Came the slightly heated, worried words from Renji's lips. Erisia stopped and blinked at him. As Hitsugaya's slipped control had leaked out cold - Renji's leaked out heat in a way. His might not be a kido type blade but his personality was all fire. "Well?" He asks, arms folded across his chest looking very much like a big brother in a way. Which made Byakuya mentally chuckle.

Erisia's mind finally caught up with what was going on and she bows her head. "Forgive me. I should have informed you of the change in plans. While I was speaking with Lieutenant Hinamori she agreed to help me and I offered to perhaps run some errands for her in return. She gave me a couple of things to deliver. One was to the 4th - which I know how to get to quite easily now... The other to the 10th... I kind of got a little turned around on my way back... but it was okay because I ended up back at the 4th when I did and it was easy to find my way back here from there." She explains.

Renji was about to speak again when Byakuya's voice stopped him. "Next time, Erisia I will expect you to use your better judgment to inform those people who have assigned themselves to watch over you while you learn your way around. You may not be a formal part of any squad as yet, but while you are here I will expect you to behave in a manner befitting a member of the 6th squad. While it is noble that you offered to repay Lieutenant Hinamori's kindness, you should not have forgotten to inform us of the change in plans. I trust that you will not allow it to happen again."

It was that displeased Captain's tone and aura and Eri stood there, head bowed looking thoroughly admonished... "Of course not Sir. You have my word that I will not allow such a thing to slip my mind again. I am sorry." She says with a bow to the Captain and then she looks up to Renji. "I am sorry that I worried you. It will not happen again."

Renji looks at her. "Eh... you better not. If I have to tell the Captain you're missing it ain't gonna be pretty... And the Captain's right, Eri... You might not be a part of a squad yet... But while you're here you're part of ours... We look after our own." He says as he makes his way back to his desk and the much dreaded paperwork. Eri just nods and makes her way over to her usual seat.

She passed the time sketching things... Not people this time, just seireitei in general. Interesting things she'd passed that had caught her eye enough that her mind had retained the details to recall them later. Finally the work day was over and it was time to make her way back to the 5th squad. She had of course made certain to inform the Captain and his Lieutenant about her meeting.

"Lieutenant, would you be able to escort Erisia to the meeting and wait with her until it is over to return her to the Estate? There is some clan business I must attend to." Byakuya explains briefly.

"Sure Captain." Renji says as he watches Eri put the sketching stuff she'd been keeping in the office aside and cleaning the charcoal off her hands. "Come on Eri-chan." He chuckles.

She nods and rises... She wondered if Byakuya was only doing this so that she couldn't forget to inform someone again... Of course if he was she couldn't blame him. Though she supposed he likely did have clan things to attend to. She couldn't pretend she knew anything about the world of nobles. She just happened to live on one's estate.

"What were you sketching this time?" Renji asks as they walk.

"Just things I've seen while wandering around. No people this time." She chuckles.

They get there and Momo runs her through some basic exercises so she can get a judge for what Tessai had been teaching the girl. Both Momo and Renji were very impressed at how well she did what little Tessai'd had time to teach her. Knack for kido wasn't wrong that's certain. Momo decided that it would be best to continue after work on this same day weekly until Erisia had to go to the Academy. That way it would not interfere with Momo's work and would hopefully not put Erisia at too much of an advantage.

They parted and Renji began to lead Eri back to the Kuchiki estate. "You really do have a knack for kido. Maybe when you get better at it you can show me how not to blow myself up every few shakkaho." He laughs.

"I still do not understand how you can cast it, repeatedly and have every few blow up in your face, Renji-san. It makes no sense." She muses shaking her head.

"Yeah well, if I knew that, it wouldn't still be happening - would it?"

"I suppose not." She chuckles.

"You are doing very well though."

"Thank you... I suppose I have Tessai-san to thank for it... he was after all teaching me basics before my untimely end." She sighs.

"That's still tweaks my brain you know. To think that you were learning from Tessai. He was the head of the kido corps before he left for the Living World... which means you had one of the most skilled Kido users showing you basics...Wish I'd been that lucky..."

"Well I feel very blessed to have been granted these opportunities. Tomorrow I am supposed to head over to the 4th squad after the normal work day has ended. Captain Unohana had asked me if I wanted to learn healing kido and I said that I would at least like to know basics and if I show any talent for it that I would not mind fostering it. She said that she would have her 7th seat Hanataro Yamada teach me."

"You're somethin' else, Eri-chan." Renji chuckles.

"Thanks... I think..." She says with a smile. Finally they arrive at the Kuchiki estate and just as they are about to part ways, Byakuya invites Renji to join them for dinner... It was a much more lively dinner than the previous nights... but then Erisia was starting to wonder if anything involving Renji could ever be anything but lively.

Finally it was time to part company and Renji took his leave. Byakuya went to his private office and Erisia retreated to her room for a long bath and a good night's rest. She was very tired from pushing herself so hard today... And to think come the morning she was going to get to do it all over again.


	9. A Wall?

She had been over at the 4th squad barracks learning some basic healing kido. She had spoken with Unohana and the captain of the healing squad had smiled and summoned one of her officers, Hanataro Yamada and set him to teaching Eri some basic healing. He was a nice kid... a little bumbling here and there... but he was really nice and she didn't mind working with him.

She had been coming out of the room they were using to practice when suddenly, she hit a wall. At least that's what it felt like. She realized that it was a person and muttered a polite I'm sorry as her gaze began to move up... and up. The wall she had run into was a very tall... mountain of a man... She swallowed hard as she took in the scars and the eye patch. He looked like quite an... imposing figure. Even if the spiked hair with bells on it was a little odd... it did not detract from the scary factor.

Then the strangest thing happened... There was a sudden flash of pink breaking up the picture. "What happened Ken-chan? Why did we stop?" Comes a childlike voice... Eri had to blink as she noticed what appeared to be a little girl in a shihakusho perched gleefully upon the monstrous man's shoulder. Then the pink haired girl looked down and noticed Eri.

"Oh... I don't think we know this one Ken-chan. Do you know her?"

"No Yachiru... can't say I do." Comes the gruff voice.

Yachiru then hopped down and began to inspect Erisia... who was feeling quite... worried suddenly... which of course caused her reiatsu to spike. Though this Ken-chan had not been looking at her, the moment her reiatsu spiked that one dark, uncovered eye focused right on her. "Now that's an interesting thing."

"What is interesting?" Erisia asks trying her best to stay calm.

"That spike of reiatsu... wouldn't have expected somethin' like that from someone that looked like you."

"What about it?"

"You fight?"

"No."

"Pity. Come on Yachiru, we've got some fresh blood at the barracks... time to see what they're made of."

"YAY!" Squealed the little pink haired girl as she was suddenly back on the man's shoulder and they were moving off and Erisia felt like she could melt against the wall - the real wall... She paused only long enough to be sure that the mountain and the pink girl were gone before she continued on her way out.

She stopped to try and wrestle the last bit of fear that had hit her... Then, she felt an arm snake around her shoulder...

"Well well, look what we have here. Can't say I've seen anythin' this pretty in a while. Where you headed?" Asks a strange voice... She turns her head only slightly and notices the strange eye makeup and the bald head...

He continued his hitting on her until she managed to get out from under his arm... "Sorry. I must leave." She says quickly before using her basic Shunpo to get the hell out of there.

"I think you scared her Ikkaku..." Comes the amused voice of Yumichika.

Erisia did not stop until she was back at the 6th squad. She made a B-line for the office and promptly shut the door behind her and sagged against the door... Her breathing was certainly erratic from the exertion and the distress... She looked like she'd been rather spooked.

Byakuya had stepped out to attend to something, which left Renji alone in the office. He heard the door shut and turned to look, noticing the distressed looking Eri. "You okay?"

She just shrugs. She was okay but she didn't feel okay. She felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest. Renji mutters something and gets up, going over and fixing tea. When it's done he walks over to her, takes her hand and leads her to sit, placing the cup in front of her.

When her hands stop shaking he tries again. "So, what happened?"

She swallows hard staring into the cup of tea. "I... was at the 4th squad for my basic healing kido lesson... and when I came out... I... ran into a wall of a man..." She begins.

Wall of a man? Oh hell... Renji thought... "Spiked hair with bells on the end? Shoulder ornament of a pink haired kid looking type?" He asked just to be sure.

She nods. Well at least she hadn't caught his blood lust that woulda been bad. "That was the Captain of the 11th Squad and his Lieutenant. Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi." Renji explains.

Eleventh squad? Blink blink... oh hell. Came the thoughts to Eri's already overwhelmed mind. "What'd he do?"

"Nothing really. Asked me if I was a fighter I said no he said pity then he commented about fresh blood at the barracks... the girl squealed yay and they were off... that... that's not what really... spooked me." She says with a sigh.

"Well what happened then?"

She explains... And at her description of the reason for her trauma he smacks his forehead. "Ikkaku. Third seat of the 11th. You've gotta ignore him... he's.. well he's not as bad as he seems. He's included in that list of people who would never harm a girl. But tact ain't exactly his specialty... No wonder you're shaken up... Top three members of the Combat Division in under thirty minutes..." Renji muses. "Wait, was there a guy with Ikkaku... with decorative feathers on his face?"

"I think so... Why?"

"Make that the top four members, considering the 11th doesn't currently have a fourth seat."

"How do you know all this?"

"Used to belong to the 11th before I got promoted."

"So who was the other one?" She asks.

"That would be Yumichika Ayasegawa.. don't ever let the pretty boy look fool you though. He's just as blood thirsty as the rest of the 11th." He laughs.

She blinks at him... Quite a lot of information to take in. Eventually she calmed enough and Renji had long gone back to muttering and cursing at his paperwork... Something that amused Erisia. She had slipped out and returned to the Kuchiki Estate to pick up some comfort food. After running into the very imposing Kenpachi, she felt she deserved something... She went into one of the bags she'd brought with her and pulled out a box of strawberry pocky.

She returned to the office and noticed that Byakuya had returned. Renji had of course explained what all had happened so when Erisia took up the spot she'd claimed of a pillow near the one wall so she could lean and sketch no one said a word other than hello to her. She sat upon the pillow and picked up her notebook going over the notes she'd taken. She had left her sketchbook at the estate since she was working not just lazing about.

By the time Byakuya had returned to the office, all was calm again, thankfully. He looked between his lieutenant and Erisia... Well she'd had kido and healing this week... time to get her started on the other half of shinigami arts.

"Lieutenant..."

"Yes, Captain?"

"Tomorrow I would like you to begin introducing Erisia-san to the art of the sword. Find her a practice sword and get her at least comfortable wielding one. Once she is we will address the beginnings of sword combat.."

"Sure Captain."

Erisia looked up... the fighting aspect... While part of her was least looking forward to it, she could not say that she had no desire to learn it. She was curious... a bit worried considering the closest she'd come to anything remotely combat oriented was watching her mother do Tai Chi... but still. There was some small part of her that was almost eager to learn. Perhaps that was the part of her that had been so willing to put herself in harm's way to protect people. Who could say? It seemed tomorrow she'd be getting closer to finding that out.


	10. Forms

The next day, Eri rose and Yuriko once more helped her into the shihakusho. She was getting a better handle on it, but there were a few things that she still got a bit tangled up with if she didn't have help. However, considering how little time she'd actually had to become familiar with the garment, she was actually doing quite well.

Today, she would be training with Renji. She'd be getting to learn sword play. She felt a rumbling purr through her being as it seemed Kumori was quite pleased with this. Of course she didn't have a zanpakuto yet… well the sword form of it anyway. She did wonder about that.

~Kumori?~

~Yes, Erisia?~ her sword spirit responds.

~When will I get your actual sword?~ She asks.

~ It does not really matter what physical weapon you take. At the academy all students are given swords.~

~How many students will know the name of their zanpakuto?~

~Very few… you might only be in the company of a very small handful if that many.~

~Why?~

~Remember that most people will not have really been speaking with theirs. They might have felt a presence but the reality will have been much different for most of them. You ended up in a very rare circumstance. I woke long before I was supposed to. I could have kept quiet, but I chose to help you instead of waiting for you. Most of the students will have to learn to listen to their zanpakuto. You already hear me.~

~I probably shouldn't mention it then, should I?~

~The other students will likely comment on it. Though I doubt that you will be able to hide it from the teachers.~

Erisia sighs. All she wanted to do was to be judged on her skill… of course she'd been victim of a very strange circumstance and now she had to deal with the consequences of it. She just didn't know what to do about it all. How much could she really tell her would be classmates? How much would she have to hide?

~I'm going to stand out like a sore thumb… aren't I?~

~You have the potential to do great things Erisia. But you must have faith in yourself and you must trust me that we might get there together.~

She just nods and slips out of her room to join Byakuya for breakfast. She was still half in her head which Byakuya notices. "Is something the matter, Erisia-san?"

"Huh? Oh… no sorry. I was just thinking and Kumori and I were talking earlier. I was just going over things that he said."

"What has your zanpakuto been telling you?"

"Well I was curious when I'd actually get to have his sword. He told me that the physical weapon doesn't matter so much. He said I'd have mine when I got to the Academy. I was curious because you did ask Renji to start showing me some basics." She explains. Byakuya nods. It was still a curious thing to him that she already knew the name of her zanpakuto but the panther seemed reluctant to begin teaching her anything. It was for the best really. She had much still to learn and if she was ever to achieve her full potential she should not be robbed of that training.

"Is it really true that there will not be very many students at the school who know the name of their zanpakuto?" She asks.

"It is the truth. Most do not learn more about their zanpakuto until after they graduate." He confirms.

She ponders this. "Captain Hitsugaya mentioned that he had been speaking with his long before he even came to the Academy." She points out.

"Erisia-san... It is not impossible to speak with the spirit of your sword before you reach the Academy. After all the spirit of a zanpakuto is just another part of a shinigami's soul. The training at the Academy helps to open the mind and make it ready to accept such things. It is not merely about honing the body... It is the balance between all aspects of what it takes to be a shinigami." He explains.

She ponders those words... She supposed that made sense. "But that does not explain why I heard Kumori. Does it?" She asks. In her mind it didn't seem like it did. Sure she'd always been a bit more sensitive person, more attuned to the world around her even after she'd been forced to withdraw to keep out of her father's path... but that still left so much explained.

"From what I have learned merely by having the opportunity to observe you, Erisia-san... You are a much more quiet soul. There wasn't the interference that is usually present so you had a greater chance of hearing him when he did speak. Then you were thrown into an extraordinary situation. And since the path was already cleared and the door already unlocked, Kumori likely saw no reason to keep the door closed." He muses.

Again he made good points... and Kumori seemed pleased with the insight the man had. "I think he's smiling smugly... so something you have said must be right on the mark, though he is refusing to clarify." She chuckles.

Senbonzakura could have commented but chose to refrain. Byakuya was an intelligent man though why he was paying so much attention to this girl when usually it would not be his way was a little strange, but to the zanpakuto, it was good to see some of the other side of it's master for a change - even if only in fleeting glimpses. A life lived with such denials of self is a life half lived after all.

The rest of breakfast continued in relative silence. Both parties requiring some time for introspection - for various reasons. Erisia was a little nervous about the training. She'd never really held anything larger than a chef's knife after all... Of course she did want to help people. She wanted to be able to defend innocents and make sure that what had happened to her didn't have to happen to anyone else. However, the closest she'd come to a sword, was watching a few movies and anime that had people wielding them.

~You had no more experience with kido or healing or shunpo and yet how readily did you take to that?~ Kumori asks.

~I suppose it was easier for me to wrap my head around those. Abstract as they might be, I think my artistic side could translate it for me. But actual fighting with swords... It might seem strange but that's a little more daunting to me.~

~Trust in your teachers, Erisia... you have the ability. You have the desire to protect people. This will only be one more way to help you do that.~ Kumori coaxes. She can only nod... the panther was right. It was just a little harder for her to face this for some reason... Perhaps it was just a little too up close and personal. Her whole life she'd been at a distance and kido certainly let you keep some distance...

They make their way to the 6th squad. Since she went in with Byakuya, of course they beat Renji there. Of course Renji wasn't late but he still didn't beat Byakuya to the office. He offers his usual greetings and they are echoed in their usual ways...

"So Captain, when did you want me to start teaching Eri-chan?"

Byakuya looks up and takes stock of things, there wasn't a lot of paperwork today so it would be safe enough to have them go out now, while the morning was still cool. "Go out now. Use the far training field as it is unused at current. It will give you privacy which I am sure Erisia-san will appreciate since she is so new to this."

"Right. Come on Eri-chan." Renji says as he makes his way back toward the door. Using shunpo he leads her first to the area to pick up a practice sword, getting one that would be about the right size and weight for her to learn with, selecting one for himself and then leads her to the practice field.

"So, you ever held a sword before?" He asks.

"No, I am afraid that the closest I have come to one prior is having watched some movies..." She says softly...

"I sort of figured as much. No shame in it, Eri. I've been to the Living World enough to know that they aren't exactly common place." He chuckles. "Though you haven't had any experience with it, how do you think you're supposed to hold it?" He asks watching her.

Eri tried to think back to the last movie she watched and she tried to mimic the grip. It was very awkward for her. Renji chuckles and shakes his head. He moves to go around behind her. It was after all much easier to correct form this way than with a sword between you.

The contact was far more intimate than Eri had been expecting. Not that there was anything remotely intimate about it, but he was beyond inside her personal space. He'd just neglected it all together. He was behind her, one arm around either side of her, moving her hands into the correct grip. Since she was so petite compared to him it was much easier to do it this way. He wasn't thinking of anything other than getting her the proper foundation.

She turned a lovely shade of scarlet that appeared to be attempting to match Renji's hair color. She'd shied away from the proximity a little as well. Of course she had been abused so it shouldn't be all that surprising that she was a little... hand shy as it were. Though she knew that she could trust Renji making all of her mind understand that was going to take some more time.

Renji noticed the blush and it confused him. He stepped back and he noticed how even her energy seemed to relax. "You okay, Eri-chan?" He asks.

She felt foolish for it really. However she'd never really been very close with people in general - not since her mother had passed away anyway. And he was male... distinctly... blatantly male. While there had been nothing meant by it, it was still far more intimate contact than she was used to having with people... "Yes... I'm fine." Comes her quiet words. He arches a skeptical brow at that.

"If I'm gonna teach you anything Eri-chan, you're going to have to trust me..." He coaxes. Of course maybe that was a little unfair of him to do, but it wasn't a lie. She would have to trust him... what better way to show that trust?

"I just wasn't expecting you to have to... get so close..." She half mumbles... and Eri never mumbled under normal circumstances but she was embarrassed.

It took a few heartbeats for all that to add up in Renji's head. His eyes widen in surprise... He chuckles then. "Well Eri, you're virtue is safe with me. If you haven't noticed I've kind of decided to informally adopt you as a little sister. It was just the easiest way to show you. Normally I don't have to get so close, but you're so damned tiny, it just happened that way." He chuckles.

She just kind of ducks her head and then gets a small smile. "I'm not that tiny. You make it sound like I'm as tiny as that pink haired girl."

"Yeah well don't let that little bundle of energy fool you. She might look like a kid but she don't fight like one."

"Okay, so... back to training... " She reminds him.

"Right... right... anyway... I'll show you some basic forms to go through to get your arms used to the weight of a sword. Might seem kinda pointless but you've never wielded a sword before and you've had to see the forms we make the squad go through every day. Doesn't matter the experience you can always go through them to either gain strength in your sword arm or to maintain it." He explains.

It made sense. Soon they're going through some basic motions. About three minutes in to the repetitive motions and her arms were already starting to feel like lead. How did they do this for prolonged periods?

~Practice and time. That is all the difference that separates you from them.~ Reminds Kumori.

Sure felt like a lot more than that at the moment. Renji had been watching her and he noticed the tip of the sword dropping a little more with each pass through the most basic form. "That's enough for right now Eri. Won't do any good to go until that hits the ground, you'll get hurt and that's not the goal here."

Erisia was very glad to stop... "I do not know how you do this... for so long. I've watched the squad going through forms and sparring... We haven't even been doing this that long and my arms feel like lead." She says with a sigh.

"We've had a lot more practice than you Eri-chan. That's all. You'll get better. Do a little bit every day. Even if it's only ten minutes... Soon the ten minutes will feel easy... then you go longer. Little by little everyday and eventually you'd be able to stand out there and go through forms with the rest of the squad and your arms wouldn't feel like they were going to fall off." He chuckles.

"This is a lot more work than I ever imagined."

"Yeah it hits us all at some point in the beginning. Sounds so great when you first hear it. Then the first practices of it... You hit a point where you wonder what the hell you were thinking. Some people quit then. It happens in every class there are always a few people who drop out. Not everyone is cut out to do this stuff, Eri... But those that stick with it, that won't walk away so easy... they see that with more time and practice it gets easier. It's hard and it's a lot of work... But if you ask me even after all that... all the fighting... It's worth it. Every time we send one of those bastards back to the twisting nether, it's worth it. Every time we can put to rest a spirit... it's worth it. Every time we can save a comrade, it's worth it. You think you're up to that, Eri-chan?" He asks, looking at her.

She ponders his words... biting her lower lip for a moment in thought... Finally, her gaze rises to meet the fiery red of his. "Yeah, I think so." She wanted to be at least...

"Good, now get back to the forms." He chuckles...


	11. Sparring

She had someone to teach her kido, healing kido and even zanjutsu… but she still lacked someone to teach her hakuda. She would need also to become at least aware of hand to hand combat. Renji thought about the people that he knew… of course after her run in with Ikkaku there was likely no way in hell she'd ever be comfortable enough to actually learn anything from the man. Renji himself wasn't bad at it, but he was teaching her zanjutsu…

It was a shame the Captain wouldn't teach her. Renji had thought about mentioning it to his captain, but he thought better of it. He wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling that there was just going to be an issue if he brought that up. He did enough things to piss off his Captain throughout the course of a day, he didn't want to add any more to it.

Of course no matter how much groundwork they laid for Eri she would still have a shit load to learn at the Academy. There were a lot of things that she was just going to have to learn there from scratch. She was already skilled enough at Shunpo that she would likely be finding more than a few eyebrows raised in her direction. Of course Yoruichi showing up here in Soul Society to teach her wasn't hurting. Another reason why Renji was trying very hard to stay on his captain's less evil side. With Yoruichi back in town his temper seemed oddly noticeable of late.

The office was fairly quiet. Erisia was at the fourth squad for some healing lessons. Both men were doing paperwork so there wasn't much more than the sound of brushes against paper. Renji was somewhat worried for the girl. Maybe it was some of the old ideas he'd gained in the 11th. She just seemed to be taking to kido way too fast and way too well. True, Eri-chan was a gentler spirit, but if she was truly serious about being a Shinigami, she would have to fight.

Maybe he was being too hard on her. Maybe she was just going to take a little longer to get into that part of things. He thought he felt a shift in her reiatsu just a little at the idea of fighting to protect people. Some part of her wanted to be able to do it… But so far, her skills were still at the very basics. They hadn't gotten to a point to even think about trying to have her spar and it worried him a little. Sure she'd learn it at the Academy, but having been through it himself, he knew she was going to have to face a good bit of hell.

She looked like a delicate flower, so of course there'd be boys with similar attitudes to Ikkaku only with LESS control. Not that Ikkaku had any of that sort of control but these young recruits? Yeah they'd be worse. Then there was the fact that Eri'd learned enough of certain things that she was going to stand out for it, which was going to put her in a position to get challenged. Just like the protective big brother he'd become he wanted to give her a way to better protect herself against that. Feh.

Of course all these thoughts made Renji's reiatsu fluctuate enough that his Captain noticed. "Is there something wrong, Lieutenant?"

Renji looked up. "Nah, not really Captain. Just thinking about all the training we're trying to heap on Eri-chan. Still don't have anyone to teach her hand to hand either… Part of me wants to teach her as much as we can before she gets to the Academy to give her a better chance. She's just so damned gentle… and that's just going to have some people trying to eat her alive in that place." He mutters. "Then part of me wonders if we're not just making it harder on her. I know she doesn't want to sit idle and all but by teaching her stuff and giving her skills she wouldn't necessarily have had beforehand, we're setting her apart from her peers which is exactly what will be causing her grief." He explains.

Byakuya had been having concerns about this topic as well. Of course for very different reasons than his Lieutenant. There were no familial feelings in Erisia-san's direction - not that he would admit that to himself. "Regardless of whether we should have or not Lieutenant, she has already begun to learn and thus we may as well continue. In this way at least she will be better prepared to handle the possible reactions people may have." Byakuya says simply then returns to his work. Renji nodded and forced himself to focus on the paperwork. The worry in his reiatsu was quickly replaced by the usual annoyance and frustration paperwork brought to it.

Of course soon enough Renji found himself having to actually teach Eri sword fighting and not just how to hold a sword and properly swing it. He had however had to give her time to let her arms get used to the movement. If she had been in any pain she'd never said anything beyond that her arms had felt like lead. She did not seem to complain much. Too quiet at times, in Renji's estimation.

Erisia was nervous. Sure, she'd known it was coming but to finally be faced with actually having to cross practice swords with Renji? She was more than intimidated. He was a big guy after all… There was no helping it though, she would have to learn one way or another and at least she knew Renji. Of course Renji wasn't exactly over the moon with the idea of this either.

Sure, he wanted her to learn… But he wasn't sure he was the best teacher for her. She just seemed so damned delicate and sure, he knew that looks could be deceiving but still… Finesse was not his strong suit… They circled each other for a while, both reluctant to strike the first blow. Finally Renji decided that Eri was not going to take the initiative and he struck.

He thought he'd held back enough. He'd certainly tried to hold back a great deal so he wouldn't hurt her… Hearing her practice sword clatter to the ground however told him he hadn't held back enough. It wasn't unheard of for the blows to be jarring. But Eri didn't have the experience necessary yet to prepare for that or to counter it. He sighs. "You okay Eri-chan?" He asks.

Eri looks up at him. That had stung quite a bit… It was kind of something along the lines of how it felt when you hit your funny bone. That odd tingling sensation mingled with pain… She tried to school the pain away from her face before he saw it, not wanting him to feel bad. "I wasn't expecting that, sorry."

"Nah, it's my fault. I should have held back more. Wielding Zabimaru has made me quite good at the brute force aspect of this. But the finesse part of it? Well… restraint as you can see is not my strong suit."

"That must be why you have trouble controlling your kido. You don't restrain it enough. Kido is more about the finesse and control and less about brute force. Sure brute strength will help you break it but casting it that way just makes it more likely to blow up in your face. At least that is the way I have come to understand it from both Tessai-san and Lieutenant Hinamori."

"Hey who's teaching who here?" Renji asks with a laugh.

"Well you did say that if I got good enough maybe I could teach you kido so you don't nearly blow yourself up every time you cast shakkahou." She chuckles.

"I have an idea Eri. At least until you get more used to the motions and what it feels like to have your blade be struck and the like I think we shouldn't use me as your sparring partner. You need to learn first not get the sword jarred out of your hands every strike." He says with a sigh.

"What is the idea?"

"You're going to get to make a new friend." He chuckles. He allows some of his reiatsu to fluctuate in order to summon a hell butterfly. He lets it land on his hand and then instructs it to find Rikichi and to lead the boy here. It doesn't take long before the young Shinigami arrives at the training field.

"What is it you need Lieutenant Abarai?" The young man asks.

"It's Renji, how many times do I gotta tell you that?" Renji asks with a laugh.

"Rikichi, this is Erisia Nakayama. I have been teaching her basic zanjutsu however I am not the best person to help her test what she has learned. I don't quite have the restraint necessary to keep from hurting her. Would you be so kind as to help out?" He asks. The kid's eyes light up and it was easy to see the hero worship.

"Yes, Sir." Rikichi answers. He then looks to the girl. Oh she was pretty. He bows politely. "It is a pleasure to meet you Nakayama-san."

"Please, call me Erisia."

"Alright, Erisia-san."

"Enough with the introductions. Basic sparring… please?" Renji asks. Soon Rikichi and Erisia are going through the same circling that she and Renji had been doing. When the sparring actually starts it is Rikichi who initiates it but at least the blows weren't knocking Eri's sword out of her hands. After a good long session, Renji stops them.

Eri and Rikichi bow to each other and Eri thanks Rikichi for helping her. The kid gets his hair ruffled by Renji and soon they're all headed off to their respective areas. Rikichi back to the barracks and Eri and Renji back to the office.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Renji asks,

"No it wasn't. But someday, maybe after I'm out of the Academy we'll spar again Renji and you won't be able to knock the sword out of my hands so easily then." She chuckles.

"I look forward to it." Renji says with that wolfish grin of his as they stride back to the office.


	12. Plotting

No one knew that Erisia was working on small thank you gifts for the various people that were helping her already and the people she'd met… like Hitsugaya. She liked the cold captain. As quiet as he was she knew that there was more there than what he let people see. He was just trying to make up for the misconception that he was a child. She understood that one.

Renji was pondering what to do about the fact that there was still no one to teach her hakudo. Of course he'd considered the people he knew that could teach her… Rukia was still in the real world and while she could be called back he would really rather not do that unless it was really warranted. Most of the other people he knew would probably scare the daylights out of poor Eri-chan.

Then it dawned on him… there was one person… who wouldn't immediately scare her. Someone who knew the valor of discretion about a lot of things. They didn't know exactly what Yumi was always so secretive about but he was definitely good at keeping things to himself. Odd as Yumi was the fact that he detested ugly things and strove for beauty would make him far more likely to be able to help Eri and not further traumatize the poor girl.

He made his way over to the 11th barracks after sending a hell butterfly to Yumi so that the guy would meet him outside the barracks and without Ikkaku. He didn't think that Ikkaku finding out and trying to tag along would help Erisia any since he'd already scared the daylights out of her. He decided that they would meet at the old practice grounds that were a little overgrown and no longer in use.

"Oi, Yumi." Renji called out as he came to the meeting place.

"Care to tell me why you've asked me to come to this overgrown place?" Yumi asks, sniffing with slight disdain at their unkempt surroundings.

"Need to ask you something." Renji says simply

"Well then, what is it you need?"

"You're pretty good at hand to hand right?" Renji asks watching his friend carefully. He had to play this just right to get Yumi to cooperate and he knew it.

Yumi smirks at that. "Well I am in the 11th, and hand to hand is a combat style..."

"Yeah I remember. Do you think you'd be able to teach someone?" Renji asks with a chuckle.

'What's the matter Renji losing your skills now that you're in the 6th with the princess?" Yumi teases.

Renji sighs at that. "Not funny Yumi. No. Not me... Erisia."

"Why would I want to teach a girl?" Yumi asks. If it was who he thought it was she seemed to be about as far from a fighter as one could get.

"You do know she's the girl Byakuya rescued, right?" Renji mentions the information hoping to get the wheels in Yumi's head to start turning in a different direction.

Understanding began to dawn in Yumi's head that would make her the girl that Ikkaku had scared off if gossip was to be believed... And if she was then that meant that Renji's request wasn't just because of his skill in the matter it was because that noble captain had requested it... The 11th might call him princess but every last one of them respected him as a fighter even if they wouldn't admit it. Still... Yumi had to play the game... "And what do I care about some girl he's rescued, let him teach her if it's so important." Yumi scoffs.

"Well if you really don't want to I can't make you. Just thought you'd like to be the one chosen for it. She's already got Hinamori teaching her kido and I'm teaching her zanjutsu... Yoruichi taught her basic Shunpo... and Unohana herself offered to teach the girl basic healing kido... " Okay that last part wasn't the whole truth but it had been Unohana's idea... and what better way to bait the trap... "Imagine being considered among those people, Yumi... sure we're just trying to give her a little foundation before she goes to the academy... All she's lacking is someone to teach her basic hakudo..." Renji says in a tone that was meant to bait his friend.

Consider him baited... "Well that is a rather impressive list. Even if Hinamori was kind of broken after what happened no one can deny that she is evil for a silly kido user... And Captain Unohana is a woman feared and respected by many..." Yumi muses as he ponders whether or not he would really consent. It's not like it wasn't a great opportunity, it was. It would leave Renji, Byakuya and the girl indebted to him and one never could tell when one would need a few small favors.

Renji noticed how Yumi left him out of this but he wasn't going to let himself get baited in this. "So?"

"I suppose I will help the girl. Besides it will be worth seeing the look on Ikkaku's face when he hears I'm getting to spend time with the girl he scared off." Yumi laughs.

Renji nods. "Good. When do you want to do this?"

"Bring her to my favored sparring grounds after the formal work day ends." Yumi says in an almost bored tone. Surely Renji would remember the beautifully wooded area around a clearing. It was private and beautiful two things that Yumi preferred.

"I will. Thanks Yumi."

"What are friends for?" He says simply as he returns back to his barracks. Renji departed to return to the 6th squad.

"Well I found someone to teach you hakudo." He says simply.

Both Byakuya and Erisia looked toward him then. "Oh?" Erisia asks.,

"Yeah. Yumichika Ayasegawa. He's a good guy and he'll make sure you learn and not get overwhelmed."

"Isn't that… didn't you say he is the 5th seat of the 11th squad?" She asks.

"I did. But Yumi's a good guy. A little strange with his obsession with beauty but a good guy. Sure, he can be a typical member of the 11th in battle but he's not all rough all the time. Which is why I thought he'd be okay to teach you. He's less likely to scare you." Renji chuckles.

"So when am I to meet with this, Yumichika?" She inquires.

"After the formal work day. I'll lead you to the place he favors for practicing."

"All right, well then I suppose I look forward to it."

"You nervous?'

"He's in the 11th squad, so I suppose I am."

"I was 11th squad. Trust me, Yumi's a good guy. You've got nothing to worry about Eri-chan and if he tries to do anything that scares you I'll handle it, okay?"

She nods. "Okay."

"Good."

And that was that. One more aspect had been taken care of... She supposed she was going to be awfully busy... but that was better than having nothing to do.


	13. Hand to Hand

Soon the end of the formal work day arrived and Renji looked at the miraculously clear desk in front of himself. He smirked and stretched letting the vertebrae in his back pop. Erisia was working on something in her sketchbook and she wasn't sharing it yet despite inquiries made by both men in the office. He looks at the clock. "Well Eri-chan, looks about time."

Byakuya looks up at this. "I expect her to be returned to the Manor for dinner. You may inform Ayasegawa-san that he is invited to join us as are you Lieutenant. For all the hard work you have been putting in." Byakuya says in that neutral Captain's tone.

Renji nods. "Of course, Captain." He says with a polite bow as he moves over to where Eri was putting her things away. "Come on Eri-chan." He chuckles.

She follows after him and he leads her with shunpo to Yumi's favorite sparring spot. "It's so pretty here." Erisia marvels as she looks around. Yumi was there, but he was not in plain sight. He wanted to take things in first.

"Thank you, the beauty of this place has always spoken to me." Comes Yumi's voice from behind a nearby tree. He steps out and gives a bow with a flourish. "A pleasure to finally, formally meet you, Nakayama-san."

Erisia blushes a little at the formality. "Thank you for agreeing to teach me, Ayasegawa-san. Please, call me Erisia." She says softly.

"Such a delicate flower aren't you? I see why your big brother wants you to learn to take care of yourself, Erisia-san." Yumi says with a light chuckle. "If we are going to be more informal then please call me Yumi."

"Yumi it is then." She says with a smile.

"Now Renji, I'd like you to stick around. I am going to need your help if I am to show dear Erisia the beauty of hand to hand combat." Yumi says with a smirk.

Renji arches a brow. "What do you need?"

"Well I'd like to show her what it should look like and I am surely not going to put her through it. So I need you to spar with me. I should think that half speed without shunpo should be a good starting pace. It will give her the opportunity to see what moves we are doing and should allow me the time to explain as well. Also for now, pull all moves. We will get into the full contact at a later date." Yumi muses. He was quite efficient of course he did most of the 11th squad's paperwork, but that was neither here nor there.

"Sounds fair enough." Renji says as he moves into the center of the clearing.

"Erisia-san, please move over here and watch very carefully. I will be expecting you to retain enough to ask intelligent questions and then we will attempt to see if you can repeat the movements." Yumi explains as he points to a safe spot where she can keep out of the way. Once she has moved, he and Renji begin the dangerous dance.

Yumi's style was much more fluid, like the striking of a snake. While Renji's style was well just as fiery as his hair. It was interesting to watch. At least they had been kind enough to slow it down so she could follow it more easily. Her mind kept taking notes. As she watched she couldn't help but think that she wouldn't mind sketching what she was seeing... though it would be hard since the combatants kept moving so much.

Yumi kept explaining things as they went along and sometimes they repeated something that looked a little complicated so she could better grasp it. Once Yumi was satisfied that the basics had been demonstrated enough for her, he bid her come to the center.

"Don't worry, Erisia-san. I won't ruin that pretty face of yours. We'll be pulling all the attacks. This isn't about fighting it is about learning and though I am in the 11th I do know the difference."

He then helped her get into a balanced stance and side by side they began to go through the basic moves he'd demonstrated with Renji's help. Once she seemed to be flowing through them more, he decided to engage her in a light spar. She was timid, but light on her feet like a spooked deer... She had a natural grace and he wondered where it came from.

"You move beautifully for a beginner. Are you sure you have no experience?"

"The closest I have come would be sitting and watching my mother go through her Thai Chi forms when I was little." She explains.

"That is where the connection is then. Something in your mind obviously responded to this, you retained the memory of your mother's form and grace when she practiced and somehow your mind translates it to this, though hakuda is very different. You will find that inspiration comes from many strange places. You will learn more easily when there is something your mind can click with, no matter how unimportant it seems. When you make those connections the results will always be simply beautiful." Yumi chuckles.

Erisia smiled. She wasn't quite sure of what to make of Yumichika yet but so far he didn't seem too bad. "Let's run through it a couple more times... then I believe I am to relinquish you as your Captain wishes for you to be returned safely by dinner." Yumi says and there's a hint of teasing in his tone but he chooses his words wisely...

"Oi, about that, Yumi. You're invited to dinner as am I. I suppose it's a thank you for helping Eri-chan out." Renji adds.

Mentally Yumi lights up at that. Such an opportunity, to be invited to the Kuchiki Estate for dinner. While he would never say such a thing where any fellow 11th squad member could hear, it was an honor. So few were ever invited to that noble place... He was insanely curious about it, he could not help himself. "It would be rude to decline such a rarely given invitation. And I do try to refrain from such ugly behavior when I have the opportunity. Pity though that I'll not have time to change... ah well." He sighs. "Come on Eri, back to it." Yumi coaxes.

They run through things a few more times until Renji who'd been keeping track of time informs them that they should be on their way so they are not late. By the time they were done, Eri was sharing Yumi's sentiment about wishing for a change of clothes. She was sweaty and it would certainly be nice to have the opportunity to freshen up.

Yumi had a bag slung over his shoulder, that he'd retrieved from the hollow of one of the trees. He followed behind Renji and Eri as they made their way to the Estate. Erisia was still in awe of it every time she saw it but at least her mind was finally able to wrap around the fact that this was her home for the time being... She smiles as Yuriko greets them at the door.

"Yuriko, do I have time to freshen up at all before dinner?" She asks.

"I believe that if you are quick about it then yes, you will have time."

"Is there somewhere that Renji and Yumi could at least wash up a little bit?" Erisia inquires.

"Yes, if they will follow me I will show them to the guest bath." Yuriko says in a polite tone.

"It is a good thing I have something clean to change into..." Yumi muses. "Thank you Eri-chan for the thought to ask."

"Well I know I could certainly use a shower and you two worked harder than I did." She chuckles as they head off down separate halls. At least Eri could find her way to and from her bedroom now. She took a quick bath and emerged from her room clad in a simple summery yukata that was pale blue with flowers just one shade lighter in color that barely stood out against the background. They appeared to be morning glories or something similar.

She makes her way to the dining room to find Renji and Yumi already there and speaking with Byakuya. Yumi was in a yukata of dark blue with some lavender pattern on the obi. "I hope I have not kept you waiting long." Erisia says as she enters with a slight bow.

"Not at all. We all understand the deep desire to get clean after working as hard as you have been." Byakuya says simply.

She joins them at the low table, her seiza not perfect but much better than Renji's at any rate. The conversation continued for a while... Dinner was pleasant. It was kind of nice having other people over for dinner. Not that she minded being alone with Byakuya but it was just a nice change of pace.

Right before dinner was to actually be served, Eri noticed something strange. There had been a rush of air past her that she couldn't discern the source of and when she looked, sitting between her and Byakuya was a little pink haired girl... Wait, wasn't that the lieutenant of the 11th squad? Eri was just blinking at the sudden appearance of the small girl.

"There you are Feathers. You made me look all over for you..." Comes that cheery tone.

Everyone then turned to face the little pink haired ball of energy. "Sorry Lieutenant, I did not realize that I had been missed." Yumi chuckles.

"I looked everywhere. You weren't with baldy, you weren't in the mess hall... you weren't in the fourth squad's barracks... I finally found some of your energy at that clearing... I'd have been here sooner but three of my tunnels were sealed off."

Byakuya gets the slightest little smirk at that.

"Lieutenant Kusajishi, do you intend on staying?" Byakuya asks carefully.

She turns to him. "If I promise to not make a mess and to leave out the front door can I stay?" She asks batting those lashes up at him.

"I will hold you to that promise and if you do not follow through I will have to have a word with Captain Zaraki and inform him that your access to candy needs be cut off as punishment."

Her eyes got big as saucers. "I promise to be good, I'll even eat proper with my chopsticks..."

He nods. "Then you may stay." Byakuya says in a slightly lighter tone than he used with most people.

"Thanks Bya-kushi!"

Dinner went fairly well with only a few minor mishaps due to the over exuberant Yachiru. However she did keep her promise. Byakuya had found that trying to bar her outright only made her more cunning in her attempts to gain access to his home and his attention. However, to allow her access while giving her rules to follow in order to get that access was a way to teach her some form of manners and it seemed to be working so far. Woe be to him however, if she ever figured out his ploy.

Finally dinner drew to a close and a rather sleepy looking Yachiru was dutifully picked up by Yumi and carried out of the estate. Renji decided to follow as it was getting on in time and he did have to be in the office at the usual time and there were still a few things he needed to do before he could go home. Yachiru was half asleep in Yumi's arms by the time they made it to the gate. Though it did not happen often, he was somewhat used to having to watch over his pint sized Lieutenant. She was like a little sister to more than just Ikkaku.

Erisia was surprised to see the interactions... Byakuya seemed to keep everyone at arm's length after all. However she'd already come to learn that he cared deeply about people, he just couldn't let it show. He must have seen that smile because he asked her what she was grinning about. She could only chuckle and reply that she had fun. She knew that it had to be hard for him. Especially with the little ninja that was Yachiru, but he seemed to have found a way to deal with her. That he made the effort at all spoke highly for him.

He could have easily used his position as a Captain and his nobility to find a way to make her stop. He seemed to look at her the way one looks at a wayward child. Though it wasn't obvious, he was offering her guidance... even if it was very well veiled within his usual demeanor. She'd gotten to learn a lot today which in her estimation, made it a very good day.

She found herself yawning and excused herself. She had another long day ahead of her. Best to turn in... She couldn't help but wonder if tomorrow would be as interesting. She hoped so.


	14. Mental Musings

Tomorrow had been just as interesting in its own way as had the next few tomorrows. Time seemed to be slipping away all too quickly. She was making progress, decent enough to earn compliments from her teachers. Even if she still had a very long way to go in the more physical aspects of her training. But as they say, Rome was not built in a single day. She had the desire, the drive to do better and she kept pushing herself even when it took her more than a few tries to get something. She tried to not get disheartened. Some things simply did not come naturally to her. While she could make a mental connection to allow her mind to more quickly come to adjust to things, getting the rest of her to follow suit was not always so quick in happening. However she was trying and that was the most important part. As delicate as she seemed, she had a core of steel beneath all that softness. Such a strange combination, but as many were finding out - that was Erisia.

She was settling in to life in the Seireitei of course she was going to have to switch to life at the Academy but after adjusting to life in the actual gotei 13 that was likely going to be a lot simpler. It was all a drastic change from life in the living world, that was certain. However she seemed to be taking to it rather well. She ran errands for Hinamori and even helped out the other people who were training her as she was able. She couldn't do much of course, but she was certainly getting to practice her shunpo and she wasn't getting lost nearly as often anymore. Many of Momo's errands had her ending up at the 10th squad and she was getting to enjoy the conversations with Captain Hitsugaya. They weren't very long but he would give his lieutenant something to do that required her presence to be out of the office and then Erisia and Toshiro would talk. He really was a boy genius. He was a bit gruff and a bit cold, but so long as she was intelligently inquisitive he would answer her questions. He seemed to like the mental break, even if he kept right on doing paperwork the whole time they conversed.

Erisia wondered if he had spoken with his lieutenant about the drinking thing because despite hearing how much of a penchant Matsumoto had for it, she'd never again brought up the subject in Eri's presence - for which Erisia was very grateful. She never bothered Captain Hitsugaya long, but she still had time enough to enjoy a pleasant, intelligent conversation.

Sometimes it tweaked her brain a bit to think of how many important people she'd gotten to meet and form some sort of connection with… No less than three Captains, a small handful of lieutenants and even a few other seated members of squads. She had also met Captain Kuchiki's sister Rukia. She was an interesting woman. Of course most of the people she'd met were interesting in some way or another.

She wondered how people might take the information of whom she had forged some sort of friendship or at least become acquainted to… but then she decided that perhaps it might be for the best if her classmates to be did not know. She certainly did not want people to think that she was only around because she knew the right people. Of course then there was the matter of her lessons… She knew that it would place her at a slight advantage at the very least. She worried about that. She did not want to seem too out of place. She wanted to blend in more - call her a wall flower of habit. But she did not like standing out like a sore thumb. Such things made her uncomfortable. Socially she was still a bit awkward. She could not interact with exuberant people like Matsumoto for long before she felt awkward. She preferred much more subdued people and she was sure that she would find more exuberant ones than subtler minded people at the Academy.

There were so many things to worry about in regards to the Academy. She had already resigned herself to the fact that since she'd chosen to spend her time before the next first class training instead of finding some other way to occupy her time, that she was going to stand out at least at first. She was also worried about what would happen when people started to inquire as to where she was from. Could she just leave the question unanswered? If not, should she say she was just from some random part of the Rukongai?

Maybe she should ask Renji what was a better part of the Rukongai, a part someone might believe she was from… But what if there wasn't? A few people had commented on how Erisia carried herself almost like a noble… So, what should she say then? She couldn't very well say she was living at the Kuchiki Estate - could she? No, if she was a ward of the Kuchiki family who knew what people would assume. She would rather not have that happen. Even if Byakuya was sponsoring her.

When did this stuff get so complicated? Life in the living world had been simple. She was just Erisia Nakayama. She'd abandoned her father's surname so long ago, legally getting it changed as soon as she was able to do so. She'd never had to worry about anything more than that. She worked at the college to help pay her tuition and the rest was covered by grants and scholarships. This was a whole new ball game in Soul Society. She was stuck in a political game and she didn't really even realize how she'd gotten there. And she was in the middle of a political game - wasn't she?

Her association with Byakuya Kuchiki would be seen by some in that light right? Oh it hurt her head to think about it. How many people would really know? Could it be kept a secret? The more she thought about it the more worried she became. Surely it wouldn't really matter in the long run - would it? That hope was derailed when she remembered High School. Cliques were something she hated. College had allowed her to avoid that to some measure because she hadn't lived on campus. But she would be living at the Academy while she was there.

She would be more immersed in the social environment of the Academy. While this was a school for training Shinigami fundamentally it couldn't be that much different from a normal school - could it? It was almost enough to have her wanting to beat her head off the nearest wall. Perhaps she needed to bring these concerns up with someone. Renji or Byakuya perhaps… maybe even both of them. Her fears and worries might be silly and unfounded but then again her concerns might also need to be addressed. She decided that she would talk with them after she got back to the 6th squad from her healing kido lessons.

Hanataro was a very friendly guy. He was polite though he seemed a little nervous at times - but that helped put Eri more at ease. He was a gentle spirit but he was willing to stand by his friends and that was a very admirable trait. He was a little bumbling and clumsy every once in a while, but Eri found it endearing. It made him far less intimidating and considering how afraid of men her father had made her once upon a time, it was nice to not feel scared. Of course she'd gotten over that by leaps and bounds since meeting the people of Soul Society.

That was not to say that she did not have fears still, she did. She would likely always harbor some small amount of it because of the traumas of her past. However she was learning to overcome them. Of course if she ever caught sight or sound of that madman Kurotsuchi again she'd be going so fast with shunpo that Yoruichi would be impressed. Captain or not that mad scientist scared the bejeezus out of her and as she came to learn, he scared just about everyone else around him as well. She would rather go toe to toe with the wall that was Kenpachi than have to spend even one second in the presence of the Captain of the 12th squad.

It had only taken one meeting - one chance, accidental meeting to make up her mind about Kurotsuchi. She had been on her way back from delivering something to Captain Ukitake for Lieutenant Hinamori when she'd heard that voice… Just the man's voice set her skin to crawling… She had turned slowly and came face to face with the most unusual looking being in the two worlds she was familiar with. His speech reeked of oil and slime and unclean things. His suggestions of testing and such made her skin crawl and her stomach turn. The very air about him brought to mind frightening things best left in bad science fiction and horror movies… She had made her excuses and gotten away from that man as fast as shunpo could carry her back to the 6th. She would rather let Ikkaku hit on her all day than be around that slimy creep Kurotsuchi again.

Speaking of Ikkaku, that was an amusing topic between her and Yumi. Yumi was having a ball tormenting his best friend with tidbits of information about training Erisia. He was also taking great care to make certain his friend could not come and interrupt their lessons either. It was kind of amusing to watch. There was nothing mean about it, just two old friends playing havoc on one another. She idly wondered what Ikkaku had done to Yumichika to deserve such playful torment but she never asked. She didn't need to know that badly.

Yumi was pleased with the progress she was making. He insisted that for someone with no real experience or exposure to combat of any sort that she was doing quite well. Sometimes she wondered if he was merely being nice but whenever she asked that she'd only get a coy smirk in response. Of course once in a while he'd shrug and say that she wasn't near being capable enough to be in the 11th squad but for someone not in the 11th she was doing just fine. She took the compliment and left it at that after that comment. She didn't really want to be like the people in the 11th squad. Combat was all well and good for protecting people. It's why she had taken this all on in the first place. But outside of that? No thank you. She didn't want to live, breathe, eat and sleep combat - it just wasn't her.

Zanjustu with Renji and Rikichi was doing well too. Rikichi in some ways reminded her of Hanataro, but he was less clumsy. Maybe it was the influence of being in the 6th squad - who could say? Of course maybe it was owed to Rikichi's hero worship of Renji… She could hold the sword properly and even go through a course of forms without the tip of the sword hitting the ground. She still got tired and she needed a lot more work, but the basics were at least well on their way to sticking in her head. Which was all Renji had really intended to teach her.

The rest of it would come when she reached the Academy. She would have time there to truly learn zanjutsu and hone it into the skill she'd need to wield her zanpakuto. It was something everyone kept stressing to her. You have time to learn all of this and to hone it. They kept reminding her that now that she was part of Soul Society that time moved differently for her now than it had in the living world. She did not have to worry about aging as it took far longer to do so here.

She promised everyone that the last two weeks before she had to leave for the Academy she would stop training and give herself a proper break before starting into a new level of training. That time was fast approaching. Of course she had plans to use that time wisely… She wouldn't be training every day anymore, but she would be making thank you gifts for everyone who had helped her and for those that she'd come to consider as friends.

As weird as it might be for her to have met these people she had to remind herself to forget their titles and just remember that they were people as well as whatever titles they held. Just because they might have importance due to rank did not mean that they could not associate with and befriend whomever they wished. She had been granted a unique opportunity and there was no shame in taking it with both hands and running with it as far as it would take her. In fact to turn her back on it would have been a great insult to all of the people whom she had met and who had helped her along the way.

At least she had resolved that in her mind at last. She just hoped the rest of it would come. She popped a piece of strawberry candy that Captain Ukitake had given her in her mouth and passed the gates into the realm of the 4th squad. She was a little early for her healing kido lesson, but Unohana never seemed to mind Eri being early… The rest of her worries would wait until later right now, she had work to focus on.


	15. Creative

There was a lot of work to do and a dwindling span of time to accomplish it all in. Erisia had taken the opportunity to go back to the living world in order to pick up some supplies so that she might accomplish that which she had set herself to accomplishing. She had taken her emptied out rolling suitcase with her so that she would not need help carrying everything she intended to purchase. If anyone was curious as to what she was up to, no one really asked - thankfully.

She had several sketches to work off of thankfully so that aspect of the work she intended to do was done. She would only have to recreate the sketches and then flesh them out in color. She had been having dreams and general flashes of inspiration that had spurred her to create these would be gifts. She wanted to thank the people who were training her in the only real way she could. Sure, she had run errands and done other small favors for the people who were training her, but that was not a way to thank them. It was merely a way to compensate them for their time. She wanted to do more than just compensate them.

When she got back she moved some things out into the gardens so that she could work outside. It was a day off for her and she intended to make the very most of it. In all actuality, her training was done so far as her helpers were concerned. She might still have a great deal more yet to learn, but it was now up to the Academy to teach her. As promised, she was taking the rest of her remaining time before she had to start at the Academy off. That did not mean however that she was going to just sit idle. Erisia Nakayama did not sit idle.

The servants were kind enough to help her get a few things set up so that she could be outside but in the shade and have a comfortable space to work in. It was a lovely warm day with the lightest of breezes. She was going to miss this place when she went to the Academy. So strange to think of… considering how strange she'd felt in this place initially. She had however finally become accustomed to living at the Kuchiki Estate.

She had some cool drinks and small snacks and all the materials she would need to create the presents she had in mind. She would be good for several hours at this point, which was good because she needed to get as many of the sketches recopied onto the canvas scrolls as she could so that she could spend the appropriate time bringing them to colorful life. She had gifts in mind for: Renji, Yumi, Momo, Hanataro, Unohana, Yoruichi, and Hitsugaya. Getting Yoruichi's to her might be tricky since she came and went in unpredictable patterns but she would manage somehow.

She had included Hitsugaya in the list of those to get thank you gifts because whenever she delivered something to him for Momo he was always willing to converse with her and never immediately shooed her out. She'd also had a dream that gave her the most beautiful picture and she wanted to recreate it if she could. Kumori had told her that the Captain of the 10th squad would understand and appreciate the image… She inquired further but the cat only smirked at her and retreated back into the shadows.

Unohana was on the list because while Hanataro was teaching her basic healing kido, it had been at Unohana's suggestion and the woman was always welcoming to Eri whenever she stopped by the barracks, either for lessons or to deliver something. She might be a very imposing woman, but that mothering instinct was what Erisia responded more to. She had missed that presence in her life most deeply since her own mother's passing and to have any shadow of it in her life again was something she was not willing to turn away from. It also helped that she never upset the Captain of the Healing squad and so never incurred the woman's quiet wrath. However Eri had seen Captain Unohana put people in their place. She was held both in fear and awe of that power and silently grateful that it was never turned in her direction. She made a mental promise to do everything she could to keep it that way.

She began sketching after setting up the easel she had purchased to make it easier for her to work. She began with the one for Momo - since she was the first person within Soul Society to train her. She would work on the gift for Yoruichi last, that way she could try to better figure out how to get the present to the mysterious woman. It was a beautiful landscape scene with a serene lake surrounded by plum trees in bloom. It was simple but it was meant to evoke a calming feeling. After dealing directly with Momo for over a month now, she felt that the woman could use any extra calm she could get.

Of course the woman did not seem as out of sorts now as she had initially. They talked during training and Erisia believed that she could consider Momo a friend now. She had heard from Momo herself as well as other people the traumas the woman had suffered and Erisia always tried to do everything she could to take the woman's mind off of such things. Looking back would only keep her stuck. So in her small ways of encouraging and being friendly, Erisia hoped she was helping the woman start moving forward once again.

For Hanataro, she was at first a little stumped… but then she figured that a general landscape with a mountain and other natural symbols of strength would be appreciated for their look if not their intent. So much often seemed to go over Hanataro's head. She wondered if this was because so many people underestimated the young man and took opportunity to prank him and to pick on him. If he had more positive influences in his life, she was sure that he would overcome the more bumbling nature. He just needed to have more faith in himself… Though she had to admit for someone with so many people having little to no faith in him it must be hard for him to have faith in himself.

Still he was a very capable healer and his conviction to help his friends was endearing. If he had half as much faith in himself as he had conviction in helping people he would go far, she was certain. So this little token meant to evoke images of strength and resilience was her way of thanking him and showing him that he was more than he believed himself to be. Whether he would get it right away or not would of course remain to be seen.

For Renji… who was all fire and heart her ideas turned to images evocative of the tribal tattoos that adorned him. Strong lines and bold shapes. It was an odd picture to be certain, but the tribal nature of it was sure to appeal to the Lieutenant that had adopted her as a sort of little sister. She would keep the lines in traditional black ink but she intended to highlight them with the barest lines of red to make them seem to glow. It was unusual but so was Renji… and neither was a bad thing.

For Unohana, a scene of various flowers perhaps around a placid lake or pond. Lots of flowers though since she held an Ikebana class every month. She might be a healer but the woman was not merely that and nothing more. So Erisia thought that the painting of all sorts of flowers would appeal to the woman, but she intended to make the setting of them something serene enough to appeal to the Healer as well. Everyone needed a slice of calm in their lives and she was sure the Healer would appreciate it since things were often as far from calm as one could get within the domain of the 4th squad.

For Yumi, a peacock brilliant in hues of blue with the slightest hints of purple as more shadows than actual colors. The backdrop she had not yet figured out… He was a member of the 11th squad - a combat division, but with his vibrant personality and how he decorated himself with feathers and loved beauty, she thought that a peacock somehow suited him. Perhaps she should set the peacock in a mountainous setting… So that there would be the rugged strength of the mountains offsetting the beautiful plumage of the peacock… Hmm it was an idea. She could fill in the background as she went, but she would have to take great care in sketching the peacock itself. She wanted to make sure that it was as beautifully detailed as she could.

For Hitsugaya it was a scene she had seen in her dreams. It was a glacial mountain lake… snow and ice abounding… The mountains that served as the ensconcing backdrop for the lake were shaped in an interesting way. However the truth of them was not immediately revealed. It was in their reflection upon the glassy surface of the frozen lake that the truth of the mountains came to life. There, in the reflection was a dragon of ice lounging in the same position that the mountains were in. Protectively surrounding this placid scene frozen in wintry time.

Now to sort out the sketch for Yoruichi's present. The woman had an affinity for cats, was the Goddess of Flash, and was mysterious and secretive… She had seen the small feline form the woman could take and yet there was something more grand about the woman - perhaps due to her noble lineage. So, what to do? Hmmm the backdrop should be shadows with perhaps hints of darker shadows resembling both the architecture of Soul Society and that of the Uruhara shop… Yes, that was unique enough… She would not be using much color in this one mostly the colors of shadows and the impossible gold of Yoruichi's eyes… Maybe some purples too but not overly colorful by any stretch of the imagination.

The background was sorted out, but what to make the subject? Perhaps the small cat form and behind it, a larger, more regal looking panther? She sketched it out in her notebook first to see how it would look before deciding on whether or not it would be an appropriate mix. Once it was done, she looked at it and then asked Kumori's opinion. She felt the spirit of her zanpakuto as though he were suddenly beside her… ~ I think it looks fine you captured her cat form quite well. ~

Pleased with the answer she began to sketch the picture on the scroll canvas. She had a lot of work ahead of her. She finished all of the sketches by dinner time. Over the course of the next few days she would paint the canvases and try to capture the details that had been created in her mind's eye. Once they were done and dried, then she would present the gifts to their intended recipients… It would be interesting to see the myriad reactions.


	16. Lunch Break

Though her time was being consumed by her desire to finish her gifts as quickly as possible, Erisia was still attempting to spend time away from her art as well. She had taken to pausing just around lunch time to take some lunch to Byakuya and Renji. Sure, it wasn't something she'd made herself, but she'd expressed her desires to Yuriko and of course her aide had made it happen.

The guys seemed greatly appreciative of the effort as well. She knew how they got when the paperwork was stacked high enough… They'd both forget to eat until way past lunch time if someone didn't look after them. She had to give them both credit for their dedication though. Of course such thoughts brought her mind back around to the fact that all too soon she would be leaving again. She would be going to the Academy.

She wasn't sure how she felt about it now. Oh, she was eager to go and learn what she would need to know in order to protect people… but she'd grown to like running errands and interacting with the various people she'd had the good fortune to meet in the Seireitei. Spending lunch at the 6th squad office… She was going to miss the people she'd become friends with. Who would have thought that she would end up making so many connections here when in the living world she'd had so few.

She packed up the basket that she used to cart the food over to the office in and made sure that she had a little sketchbook handily hidden upon her person and then made her way over to the 6th squad. She was of course clad in a shihakusho, something she'd finally learned to get into and out of without help from Yuriko. She could have used Shunpo, as she was more accustomed to it now. She still wasn't as fast as she likely could be, but she was steady and right now that was more important. However it was a pleasant day and she didn't want to risk upsetting the basket of food.

She greeted the people she passed. She wasn't formally part of any squad but people had become familiar with her now. She was always polite and she tried to be helpful which endeared her to many. Of course some of the people she passed might only have been nice to her because of whom she'd befriended but what she didn't know couldn't hurt her at the moment. She paused in the courtyard of the 6th to watch the squad go through their forms. She'd actually found that she liked watching them. Of course having been through her own forms, she had a new appreciation for what they were doing, which likely helped.

She still kept up her practicing, she didn't want to undo what she'd learned. Finally she made her way to the office, knocking politely before entering when beckoned in. "Good afternoon." She says in a pleasant tone and Renji smiles as he greets her. Byakuya doesn't smile but she's been around him enough now to know that he's happy to see her as well and not just because she comes bearing food. "Good afternoon, Erisia-san." He says as he looks up from his paperwork.

"I brought some lunch."

Renji's face lights up at the promise of food… Byakuya looks at the paperwork in front of himself and signs it before setting the rest aside.

"The morning has flown. We've been quite busy. What do we have for lunch today?" Byakuya inquires.

"I didn't look. I just took the basket Yuriko packed up." Erisia chuckles. Within were some onigiri and some other easy to eat but filling foods that would travel well. She began to put everything out on the side table that the tea paraphernalia usually rested on. Soon they were all seated with plates laden with lunch on it.

"Man am I gonna miss this when you go off to the Academy Eri-chan." Renji chuckles.

"Is that all you are going to miss Renji? Only that I bring lunch?" She asks in a teasing tone. She'd gotten a bit more accustomed to his personality and had come out of her shell a little bit more. At least around the people whom she'd befriended. She was still shy little wallflower Eri in front of new people but progress was progress, even if it wasn't completed yet.

"Of course that's not the only reason. Looking at you sure beats looking at the Captain all day." He laughs.

Erisia chuckles. "You're horrible Renji… and in front of Captain Kuchiki no less. You'll be lucky if you escape this with only double the usual paperwork." She teases.

Renji's eyes go wide. "Don't even joke about that, Eri-chan that's not funny." He says with a shudder. "Besides, he knows I'm just kidding. He does have a sense of humor though you gotta look real close to find it."

"Oh I know.. Of course you only work with him… I've been living with him." Erisia counters.

"Is he any different behind the closed doors of the Kuchiki Estate or is he still Mr. Stoic?" Renji asks, ignoring the glare Byakuya gives him.

Erisia eyes Renji, and ponders how to answer the question. "I fear what goes on behind the walls of the Kuchiki Estate is the business of those that call it home."

Renji looks positively gob smacked that she not only didn't answer but how she'd chosen to not answer… Byakuya was laughing inside… and hard enough that the corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly. "I think we've been a horrible influence on you Eri." Renji says with a mock pout before chuckling and digging back in to lunch.

"Yes well remember in that you are mostly to blame, Lieutenant." Byakuya reminds him. Of course it was a small display of that sense of humor that Renji hinted about. He was however quite glad that Erisia had kept how he behaved in the privacy of his own home to herself. It wasn't that he didn't trust Renji. He trusted his Lieutenant with his life… However he did have an image to uphold.

It wasn't that he was a completely different person at home. He was still Byakuya Kuchiki but the mantle of Clan Head and Captain's Haori were laid aside at home. He would always be more stoic, he'd been at that for far too long to go back to being the hot head he'd once been… But he was a bit more relaxed and it allowed for more glimpses into the person he was beneath the titles he bore.

Lunch passed with a bit more joking between Eri and Renji and when they were finished, Erisia packed everything back into the basket to clean up and get things out of their way. "You leavin' already Eri-chan?" Renji asks.

"Whether I stay or go, you still have to return to your paperwork Renji." Eri chuckles.

"Ehhh don't remind me." He says with an eye roll. "But seriously, you leavin' already or just cleaning up?"

"Cleaning up for the moment… though I do have to get back I have work to do."

"I thought you were supposed to be taking this time off…" Renji points out.

"I'm taking this time to myself… and I decided that I wanted to make some thank you gifts for the people gracious enough to train me."

"What are you making?" Renji asks.

"You'll see…"

"Aw come on Eri-chan…"

"Sorry Renji, patience is a virtue. That is all the more information you are getting out of me."

"She's definitely been living with you too long." Renji says as he shoots his Captain a mock glare.

"You say that as though it is a bad thing." Byakuya comments, not looking up from the paperwork he'd returned to.

"As much as I'm gonna miss seein' you around every day Eri-chan… Perhaps it's a good thing you're going off to the Academy. We've already got one Captain Stoic… we don't need you turning into another version thereof."

Erisia just chuckles. She'd noticed the interaction between the two men before. They had a way about them. They did joke with one another it was just done on a subtler level than in outside instances. They might not be friends but they had an amicable enough working relationship. Of course things seemed to ease between them recently and Eri idly wondered why that was. "You two should be careful… someone other than me might hear you and think that you like each other or something." She teases. It earns her a glare from both men… which sends her into another fit of giggles…

"Oi, that's enough out of you." Renji says as he gets up and grabs hold of her, he'd discovered that she was ticklish while they'd been training with the swords… When he'd been showing her other techniques and the like… It had happened purely on accident. This time however, he was very surely tickling her on purpose. It earned him a squeal and her squirming to attempt to get away from him.

She slips away and hides behind Byakuya…. Who was vastly amused by their antics, even if he did not outwardly show it. "I suggest that you return to your paperwork Lieutenant before you get yourself into something you cannot easily get out of." Byakuya warns.

Renji however was not deterred… But he was rather surprised when he found his arms suddenly bound behind his back… A brow arched looking at Byakuya… Of course his Captain favored Rikujokoro… but he hadn't heard anyone actually cast Sai… So he was left a little at a loss.

"The Captain did warn you Renji." Erisia says in a teasing tone. Renji arches a brow at her.

"You didn't even speak the word aloud, Eri… what else you hiding up those sleeves of yours?" He asks.

She gives him a geisha like smirk in reply. "I have been working on casting certain low level spells silently… it's taken a lot of practice and I would never attempt it with something stronger at least not yet… Probably not until after I graduate from the Academy… But I was talking it over with Momo and she said that with great enough focus and will it is possible… But it does take a lot of control and the higher the spell level the harder it would be." Erisia explains. "I figured that since you don't need any incantations to do healing kido that maybe it would be possible to translate that to the other schools of kido."

"Oi between you and Momo we're all going to be in a lot of trouble." Renji chuckles. "Alright, alright I give Eri… I should get back to my paperwork anyway… you can let me go now."

She smirks and releases the kido… He does as he says and walks back over to his desk. Of course she had been expecting mischief, this was Renji after all… "I should be returning to the Estate and working on those gifts… Have a good afternoon Renji, Captain." She says as she gives a small, polite bow to each man before slipping from the office and returning to her own work.


	17. Presents Part I

She had finished the scrolls. It had not taken her as long as she had thought it would. She had figured that she would be working on them almost right up until she was going to have to leave for the Academy. She was glad that it hadn't taken her that long. Once she had them finished, she only had to wait for them to dry and that really didn't take long at all. The first ones that she had finished were already dry.

She was kind of glad she was living at the Kuchiki Estate, it afforded her much more privacy than she might have had otherwise, which meant that no one had seen the presents she was working on - despite Renji's multiple attempts to find out just what she was up to. It was amusing really to see his curiosity getting to him. But she was not saying anything about it and neither was Byakuya. She had a feeling that he had seen them, but at least he was keeping it quiet if he had. She really couldn't expect him to stay out of a room in his own home just because she was working on presents for people.

Yuriko had seen them and she had said that they were all very lovely. Of course Yuriko had been assigned to watch over Eri and make sure that she didn't need anything or get lost so she really hadn't expected any differently. While she realized that Yuriko was a servant in the noble household, she preferred to think in other terms. That whole servant and noble thing was far too strange for Erisia. So she merely considered Yuriko her guide and assistant. It was a little easier to take that way - at least for Erisia. Of course calling Yuriko her assistant had earned her a chuckle from the woman.

While waiting for the main scrolls to dry, Erisia had made a few small paintings for Yuriko. They were all floral in theme but they also went together, a small set if you would. Since they were smaller, they'd taken almost no time to dry. One was of delicate lilies of the valley, another was sakura blossoms floating upon what looked to be the pond on the estate's grounds, and the third was roses. She had presented them to the woman who was shocked that she was receiving a gift.

"I could not possibly accept these, Erisia-san."

"You must, I made them for you. You've helped me so much in my time here… more so than anyone else really. If not for you I'd still be trying to figure out how to get into a shihakusho." Erisia chuckled.

"Very well then, Erisia-san. Thank you they are very lovely. I think I know where they will look best in my own quarters… There is a spot near the window that has been in need of decoration for some time now but never could I find anything to put there. Thank you." Yuriko says with a bow. Nothing pleased Erisia more than making people happy with her art. She might be learning to become a Shinigami, but art would always be a passion of hers.

Once the scrolls were all dried she rolled them up and put each into a decorative scroll case she had gotten to keep them safe and to make them truly look like the gifts they were. She had given some thought as to how best to present the gifts to their intended recipients, and she figured that it would be best to just go and visit each person and do it that way. She had learned her way around the greater majority of the Seireitei proper now so she wasn't really worried about getting lost… She also decided to be evil and save Renji's for last just to make him wait since he'd been attempting to ferret out what she was working on.

She got her small backpack and put all of the presents inside it. She then intended to go deliver the presents. She was slipping past the gate when she nearly ran right into Yoruichi. "Yoruichi-san I was not expecting to see you today." Eri muses.

Yoruichi flashed her a grin. "Just dropping off a few things for Kisuke. Thought I'd drop by and see how you were doing since you're heading to the Academy soon."

"Well thank you. I'm alright. Everyone bid me to take some time off before I went but I didn't really stop doing something. I've been working on presents for people. Speaking of, I have something for you Yoruichi-san."

"Oh?"

Eri nods and digs in her backpack until she finds the one with the little tag for Yoruichi on it. She had figured she was going to have to have someone deliver it to the shoten for her, but now she was going to be able to hand deliver it. She holds it out to the woman. Curiosity takes over at that point and has Yoruichi opening it right then and there. She unfurls the scroll and is left blinking.

"Oh Eri, this is beautiful… Thank you."

"You're welcome. I didn't really know what you would like but I figured your cat form was a safe subject… and I think Kumori added his own influence since he's a shadow cat too." She chuckles.

"I like it, it's very appropriate and I'm something of a shadow cat myself so I really don't mind." Yoruichi laughs as she gently rolls the scroll back up and puts it back into the safety of its case. "So who you headed to see next?"

"I was thinking I would go see Momo." Eri answers.

"Well I'm going to stop by and bug Bya-bo before I head back. See you around Eri. Good luck when you get to the Academy." Yoruichi says as she's off like the flash goddess she is…

Eri makes her way to the fifth squad, nodding her head in greeting to the Shinigami on gate duty. She knocks on the office door and after a moment Hinamori's voice says, "Enter."

"Hi Momo." Eri says as she walks in, shutting the door behind herself.

"Oh, hello Erisia. To what do I owe this unexpected visit?"

"I have something for you." Erisia says as she rummages through her bag to retrieve the scroll with the tag for Momo on it. She crosses to the desk and holds out the scroll case.

"What is this?" Momo asks.

"A thank you gift. You took time out of your busy schedule to show me some basic kido and for that I am very grateful." Eri says with a small bow. Momo takes the scroll case and opens it, then uncurls the scroll. She sits there blinking quietly for several long moments…

"Oh Erisia… this is… this is so…" Momo's words trail off, she didn't really have the words. Plum trees in full bloom and a peaceful lake… It was so pretty and there was something serene about it too. "Thank you." Momo says as she sets it on her desk and gets up to hug Erisia.

"I'm glad you like it." Eri says with a smile.

"I do. Where do you think it would look best?" Momo asks, looking around the office. "I think the office could use some brightening up, don't you?"

"That's a lovely idea. What about the wall behind your desk, that way when people come in to speak with you, they'll get to see it too."

"Oh you're right. That's a great idea. Help me hang it up? I'm sure I have… something… in here… some… where…." She trails off rummaging through her desk. "Ah ha… this should help." She chuckles as she finds some things to tack up the scroll.

The girls work together to get it straight and Eri holds it in place while Momo secures it. Both stand back to see the results… and both agree that it was perfect there. "Well I have a few more thank you gifts to deliver and I'm sure you have plenty of work to do… So I'll take my leave."

"Don't be a stranger Erisia. I know you'll be at the Academy, but when you're not there, you're welcome to come by if you'd like… even if it's just to talk…" Momo says with a smile that actually did reach her eyes… She'd come a long way and it was amazing what some strong old friendships and some bright new ones could do for a person.

"I will keep in touch… thank you again Momo, for everything." Eri says with a polite bow as she takes her leave.

Her next trip would be to the 4th squad where hopefully she could deliver two of the presents… She ran into Hanataro first. "Hello Hanataro." She calls out, a smile in her voice and on her lips.

The seventh seat of the fourth squad pauses and when he realizes who is greeting him, a grin appears on his lips. "Good afternoon Erisia-san. How are you today?" He asks.

"I'm fine. I was actually hoping to run into you."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"I have something for you."

He blinks at her. "Something… for… me?" He asks. Clearly he did not receive gifts very often. She chuckles and nods as she opens her bag and looks through it. Thankfully there were two less scrolls to look through and soon enough she finds the one with the right tag. She holds it out to him.

"What is it?" He asks.

She laughs. "Open it silly and find out."

He looks at the scroll case for a moment before opening it. Part of him fearful that those fake snake things or something was going to come flying out of it…. It was something he was used to - people took great pleasure in picking on him after all. He didn't mean to look like he was bracing himself for impact, that wince of I hope this isn't going to be like everything else… but he couldn't help it.

So imagine his surprise when nothing strange jumps out of the scroll case at him. Cautiously he looks into the opening to see the rolled up scroll… Timidly he pulls it out and opens it. He stands there looking at it, blinking in shock for several long moments. It was one of the only real presents he had ever gotten and it was by far the nicest. He liked the mountains…

"Thank you Erisia. Where did you find this?" He asks.

"I painted it." She says simply.

He was left in shock yet again… "You are very skilled."

"Thank you. I've been painting since I was little. I wanted to do something nice for all of the people who have been helping me since I got here… call it a thank you present." She says with a smile. Hanataro couldn't help but smile at that. "Well you're welcome…" He chuckles. "I better get going though there's a lot of work today. New recruits at the 11th which is always more work for us." He sighs.

"Well I hope your day goes better than just that, Hanataro."

"Thanks again Erisia…"

"You're welcome Hanataro." She says as he bustles off in the direction he'd been heading before she'd stopped him.

She continued on her way towards the main building. Once inside she inquired as to where she could find Captain Unohana, stating that she had something to deliver to the woman. The healer looked through a log book that was kept to keep track of the healing schedule for those who were here for more than just a slight wound… "She will be in her office unless a bad case has come in."

"Thank you." Eri says with a polite bow as she makes her way to Captain Unohana's office. She knocks on the door.

"Enter." Comes that soft voice. Eri quietly opens the door.

Unohana smiles. "Good afternoon Erisia-san… I hope everything is alright?"

"Oh yes, everything is fine, thank you for asking. I hope your day has not been too stressful."

"It is busy but I do not mind being busy."

"Well I won't interrupt your quiet time long then." Erisia says as she brings out the scroll case. She'd taken the time to find the correct scroll before getting to Unohana's office.

"Nonsense Erisia, you are not interrupting." Unohana chides gently. "Now what brings you to my office today?" Unohana inquires.

"I have something for you."

"Another delivery? I thought you were supposed to be taking some time to yourself before you left for the Academy."

"Oh it isn't like that. This is a personal errand. I wanted to give you something to thank you for offering to have your seventh seat train me in basic healing kido." Erisia explains as she holds out the scroll case.

"It is not necessary to thank me, Erisia. As I said it is my duty as the Captain of the Healing squad to ensure that all who wish to learn even basic healing kido have the opportunity to do so, but I thank you for your consideration." Unohana says with a smile. She was really starting to become fond of the young woman before her. She takes the scroll case and opens it.

She was somewhat surprised to be getting a thank you gift. So many times healing was a thankless job. Of course she did not go into healing to be thanked, she went into healing to help people. Of course when she did receive thanks it meant that much more. She gently pulls out the scroll and unfurls it. The scene of a calm lake surrounded by a field of flowers of all sorts brought a small smile to her lips. It seemed that Erisia paid far more attention than anyone would have thought.

She had recalled that Unohana held an ikebana class and she had combined flowers with a calming scene to appeal to both sides of the healer. The effort was greatly appreciated. "This is lovely work Erisia-san. You really do have an exceptional eye for detail. I can almost feel the gentle breeze that is bending the flowers just so." Unohana muses.

Erisia blushed slightly at the compliment. "Thank you Captain Unohana. I do try to capture as much detail as I can, especially when my work is being given as a gift."

"The effort is appreciated, Erisia-san. Once you are out of the Academy, if you wish to continue your lessons, let me know and I will see to it that someone is able to continue your training. Though if you would simply wish to stop by for tea I would be more than happy to share a cup with you."

"Thank you very much Captain Unohana… I will keep that in mind. I should be going, I still have a few more presents to deliver." Erisia says as she bows politely to the captain.

"You are quite welcome, Erisia-san. I am glad to see someone who has such an interest in all of these things. Though I know you must feel overwhelmed at times you are still so eager to learn so much. It is a rare trait indeed… I hope you do not lose it… for it will serve you well. Have a good afternoon Erisia-san." Unohana says as she rises to see Eri to the door of her office. Once the girl was gone, Unohana spent some time looking around her office deciding where best to hang the scroll.


	18. Presents Part II

**I had hoped to finish the Presents part of the story in 2 sections, but the muses have had a different plan. Since I am a slave to the Muses, I must do as they ask. I was going to finish up the deliveries in this chapter, but Yumi seemed to be so happy to be out that he just kind of took over. I couldn't bear to stop him since he was so excited... So Yumi gets this chapter mostly to himself... At least he only has to share it with Yachiru a little - and he doesn't mind. He likes his lieutenant, sort of sees her as a little sister... **

**Now... On with the Story. ENJOY!**

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Erisia made her way away from the fourth squad. She paused under one of the trees in the courtyard before departing from the fourth squad's realm entirely… She had to decide where next to go. She still had a few presents left in her bag to deliver after all. But where to go next? There was one place she was kind of dreading getting near, but she would have to in order to make a was just reluctant to get nearer to the domain of the 11th squad than was absolutely necessary. Of course she could always head over to the 6th squad and have Renji send Yumi a hell butterfly to meet her somewhere… She sighed to herself. No, that wouldn't work because then Renji would pester her about it. Besides, she would have to face that fear down at some point - right? No, better to do this on her own than to involve other people. How hard could it be after all?

Once she made up her mind, she continued on her path. She came to a stop just outside the gateway to the 11th. She had to pause to make way for a stretcher that was carrying a young man that looked to be fresh out of the Academy by age who was sporting several nasty looking wounds. On second thought, maybe she should just ask Renji to send a note to Yumi…

Just as she was about to turn away however, she heard a familiar voice. "Eri-chan!" Comes the bright, cheerful voice of the young Lieutenant of the 11th squad. Erisia pauses in her retreat to turn towards that voice.

"Good afternoon, Yachiru." Eri says with a smile.

"What brings you down here to the 11th, Eri-chan?" Yachiru asks.

"I have a couple of presents to deliver." She explains. Yachiru's eyes light up at those words.

"Presents? Who for?"

"Well I do happen to have something in my bag for you. The other is a thank you gift for Yumichika since he was so kind as to teach me basic hakuda." She explains.

Yachiru was practically bouncing by this point. "Something for me? What, what what what?" She asks as she bounces around Erisia. It makes Erisia chuckle. She opens her bag and pulls out a small basket wrapped in cellophane. The basket was bright pink and the cellophane was clear pink. She had seen them while shopping for supplies and after interacting with Yachiru on a couple of different occasions, she thought the girl might like them as well as what they contained.

"OOOH!" Yachiru squeals as she tries to control herself enough to not snatch the present out of Erisia's hands. She opens the cellophane to reveal: strawberry hi-chew, strawberry pocky, botan rice candy and a few other of Erisia's favored living world treats. Soon, Erisia found herself in a very strong hug.

"Thank you Eri-chan." Yachiru says with a little giggle.

"You're welcome. I saw the basket and I thought you would like it, and I decided that I would put a few of my favored living world treats in it to share them with you."

"So you have something for feathers?" Yachiru asks.

"Yes, do you know where he is?"

"Uh-huh…" Yachiru says as she grab's Eri's hand with her free one, holding the basket tightly in the other and starts darting off through the 11th squad.

"Oh I could just wait -" Eri's words are cut off as she has to focus to not end up off her feet. Yachiru was very fast and near as far as Eri could tell the girl wasn't using shunpo which was baffling to some small degree… There were several cat calls as they passed the practicing squad members. Yachiru registered this and stopped, letting go of Erisia's hand and setting the basket gently down before turning to face the offending men.

"You stop making catcalls at Eri-chan. She's Byakushi's… get back to training before I tell Ken-chan you're slacking." She yells as the angry pink flare of her reiatsu catches their attention. Pretty soon, the courtyard is nearly as quiet as a church but for the sound of sword clashing against sword. Of course after the girls departed there was a chorus of whispers. Erisia's mind hadn't yet caught up… she was still stuck on being called Byakushi's… Oh dear.

Yachiru began talking about the training and how sorry those idiots would be if Ken-chan caught them slacking off like that… Pretty soon, they were heading off towards a few of the barely used training grounds at the back of the compound. There, Yumi and Ikkaku were sparing… Oh that was the last thing Erisia needed.

However, she was helpless against Yachiru's iron grip and speed. She was at the petite Lieutenant's mercy and the petite lieutenant was making a b-line for the boys. Erisia sighed and mentally tried to brace herself for what was likely coming. She remembered all too well her last meeting with Ikkaku. Too bad Yachiru didn't know how reluctant Erisia was to run into the third seat of the 11th squad. Though Eri had to wonder if it would really make a difference if Yachiru did know.

"Hey Feathers… Eri-chan's here to see you!" Yachiru calls out, letting go of Eri's hand at last and bouncing over towards the battling boys. The sparring match pauses as both Yumi and Ikkaku stop to see what Yachiru is yammering on about.

Ikkaku gets a wide grin seeing the delicate flower in their midst. He starts making some flirtatious comments, though true to his beginnings they are far from eloquent or refined. He had been making his way over towards Erisia intent on snaking an arm around her shoulders and seeing if he could keep her from running when two things happened.

One, his hands were suddenly bound behind his back and two, his lieutenant was suddenly biting his head. "You stop that baldy. You know Eri-chan don't like you and she's Byakushi's anyway so just stop it. She brought me candy and she's got a present for Feathers and nothing for you." Yachiru chides. Breaking out of the low level binding kido wouldn't have been hard for Ikkaku were it not for the added difficulty level of his lieutenant biting his head in between yelling at him.

They start to move off, for which Erisia is glad. Not that she really minded Yachiru, but if the petite, pink haired lieutenant was going to get rid of Ikkaku, she would gladly watch the girl leave. Yumi was trying to not split a side or double over laughing at the antics. "So you've learned to silently cast Sai… impressive."

"I thought the 11th didn't like kido." Erisia muses.

"Oh, we don't use it, but that doesn't mean some of us don't know it." Yumi smirks. "So it seems your training with Hinamori is paying off."

"I suppose.. But Sai is the only kido I can cast silently… and it took most of the time I've been here training to accomplish it. However Momo and I were talking and she believes that with the right amount of focus and will and reiatsu, that it may be possible to silently cast other kido… but it would take a high level of mastery for the majority of them."

"Well you keep at it if it makes you happy. So, was Yachiru correct in saying you have something for me?" Yumi asks, a brow arched in curiosity.

Erisia nods and holds out the scroll case. It was a deep blue… He takes the scroll case, the spirit of his zanpakuto making a comment of approval about the color of it. He opens it and with nimble fingers far gentler than one would think a member of the 11th capable of, he withdraws the scroll canvas. Color him curious now. Slowly he opens it and is surprised and pleased on more levels than he would ever be able to convey anywhere that there was a chance of his squad mates hearing.

Ruri'iro Kujaku was beyond pleased. There, set amid a rugged yet beautiful mountain backdrop was the most beautifully detailed azure blue peacock. Erisia had taken a great deal of time to put even the very finest detailing into the feathers so that it looked like the peacock would at any moment step off of the scroll and become real. He was stunned silent. Yet it struck that silent, hidden chord deep within his soul… "This is perhaps the most beautiful painting I have ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes upon, Erisia. Many thanks. I wonder though what made you choose a peacock for me." He muses.

She smiles. "Well you decorate yourself with feathers, you love beauty and I sat there thinking - what was the most beautiful bird I could think of? The answer was simple… peacocks… all those lovely shades of blues and greens… so vivid and so uniquely beautiful… It seemed to suit."

~ More than you know, Erisia. ~ Came the voice of her own zanpakuto.

~Kumori?~

~ The true name of his zanpakuto means azure peacock. I can hear Kujaku clear over here… he's preening and going on and on about it… I can't wait to get out of his vicinity so I can tune him out.~

"You are as perceptive as you are skilled, Erisia. Do not let this rare talent of yours rust while you are at the Academy. It would be a shame. Come on, let's get you back towards the more civilized areas of Seireitei. I fear if we linger much longer Ikkaku will escape Yachiru and he'll be on his way straight back here to get back at you for using Kido on him like that." Yumi chuckles. Erisia nods and follows him back out of the 11th.

Yumi lead her back through the twists and turns that Yachiru had dragged her through to get to the most remote training area of the 11th's domain. Any trouble that the rest of his squad might have made had Eri attempted the trip back on her own were quickly rethought as they realized whom she was walking with. Yumichika Ayasegawa might be a pretty boy but he was a member of the 11th squad and he was just as ruthless and bloodthirsty as Ikkaku and Kenpachi. He was a force to be reckoned with and every last member of the squad had been made painfully aware of that fact.

So it was lucky for Erisia that Yumi had taken it upon himself to accompany her out. Of course he was fairly sure that she never would have managed it on her own considering how she'd come to end up so deep within 11th territory. Once they are safely away from the 11th and the dreadful brutes contained therein, Yumi offers Erisia a smile.

"I did mean what I said, Erisia… Do not let your beautiful skill rust away while you are in the Academy. There is so little beauty to be found in these war filled days that we should appreciate and cherish what oasis of it we find."

She could not help but blush at his words. "Thank you Yumi and I will most certainly attempt to maintain it… So long as I have the time I will at least be sketching… It has always been a thing of comfort for me… and a way for me to relax." She explains.

He chuckles. "You will most definitely need the respite while in the Academy. It will not be easy work. Though you have done well grasping the basics of combat, I feel obligated to tell you that you will most likely have the most trouble with that aspect of the training the Academy provides. You have a desire to protect and within you is the will to fight, but you are not a warrior Erisia."

She looks down at that. Slender fingertips that were not as rough as they likely should be for a member of the 11th gently touch her chin to tip her head back up. "Do not take my words as discouragement, Erisia… I am a member of the 11th… they are the most warlike division. When I say that you are not a warrior I mean that you are not a soul so graceless and vulgar and bloodthirsty as to be counted among those ranks. You have the will and the desire to be a fine Shinigami, Erisia. Do not let the challenges you meet in the Academy discourage you from that desire… Alright?" He asks with a soft smile gracing his lips.

Erisia cannot help but blink at him for a few heartbeats. Finally she nods. "I will most certainly try my best." She says quietly.

Yumi smiles. "So long as you do that, I have every faith that we will see beautiful results from you." He says as he then bids her goodbye and returns to his squad. Erisia was left mystified by him once again… He seemed to be the very opposite of what the 11th seemed to stand for and yet he was so at home there as well… It seemed he was a study in contradictions… But at least he was on her side.

Finally she snapped out of it, shaking her head and chuckling at herself. She felt a little silly, but when they weren't sparring Yumi just struck her that way sometimes and left her speechless and he seemed to delight a great deal in doing so. She adjusted her bag over her shoulder again and moved off in the direction of her next delivery…


	19. Presents Part III

**Author's Note: This will be the last part of the 'filler' arc, Presents. The regular story will continue after this chapter. I had meant for Presents to only be two parts but it got away from me. *chuckles* I hope you have enjoyed it though. Also, thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Thank you to those who have added the story to a favorite's or alert list... please review too if you can to let me know what you think! Thank you.**

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She made her way to the 10th squad's barracks. She waited at the gate politely for her presence to be announced to the Captain of the squad. She was much more considerate than some people. She just didn't understand the point of barging in somewhere. She wasn't a Shinigami yet and she had no clearance really. Sure, she'd delivered messages and the like before but that was not carte blanche into wherever she wanted to go.

Of course that was a trait that had helped to endear her to many of the people she had been fortunate enough to get to know since arriving in Soul Society. She was polite and considerate, she was thoughtful and she tried to think of people before her own needs. She was intelligent and desired to learn even when things scared her she still tried. Good traits for someone set on attending the academy. The dedication did not go unnoticed.

Once she's given permission to enter, she makes her way from the gate to the office and politely knocks on the door. She enters only when that gruff voice bids her to. She offers Toshiro a smile. "Good afternoon, Captain Hitsugaya." She says in a gentle, cheerful tone.

"Good afternoon, Erisia-san. What brings you over to the 10th squad today? Were you not supposed to be taking a break to enjoy your last few free days before attending the academy?" He inquires, not looking up from his paperwork. Of course Eri was used to that. She didn't mind because she knew he could maintain a conversation and do his paperwork at the same time.

"I am. I'm not here delivering something for Lieutenant Hinamori… This is more of a personal visit." She states. This has him looking up from his paperwork, curiosity glittering ever so slightly in his eyes.

"Do elaborate, please."

"I decided that I wished to extend my gratitude to those who have helped me since my coming here. I made a few presents for people. Though you have not trained me per say, you have given me good advice and you have taken the time to converse with me. I know you are very busy, but I do appreciate that you took the time at all… I value that, and I hope that perhaps some day I will be lucky enough to be allowed to call you friend…" She pauses… and withdraws the scroll case. "In any event… thank you for your time and for sharing your knowledge with me." She says as she gives him a polite bow and holds out the scroll case to him.

Okay color him very curious now. A brow was arched in curiosity as she spoke. His scowl softening slightly. "I have enjoyed our conversations as well, Erisia-san." Is all he says to that. If the tips of his ears grew a little pink from her words at all, no one would notice - right? Thank Kami that Matsumoto wasn't around at the moment. It was just that Erisia was so open with her words and he could not doubt the sincerity of them. Of course they had not known each other long and it took quite a while for Toshiro to warm up to anyone… But he gives a curt nod at her stating that she wished someday that she could consider him a friend. It might not be there yet, but the foundation of friendship was started at least.

He looks at the scroll case a moment before taking it from her. He opens it and slowly withdraws the canvas rolled up within it. He sets the scroll case aside and slowly begins to unroll the scroll. In their conversations he had learned that she had taken up art as a hobby some time ago… He did not have context to put that into however… Until this moment. For most people a hobby was not usually something that produced stunning results. What his mind had envisioned when she first spoke of sketching and painting, he wasn't really sure. However, something of this detail and skill was certainly not in that consideration. He was quiet for a long time while he attempted to take in the painting in its entirety.

His shock registered if not on his face at least within his soul. It piqued the interest of his Zanpakuto to say the least and the dragon which had been slumbering while he did paperwork, craned up his head to look over his master's proverbial shoulder. The dragon too was left silent and blinking at the masterpiece that Erisia had created as a gift for him. Hyourinmaru noticed the reflection in the water and was surprised… Not that the girl had decided to conjure a dragon of ice for Toshiro, but that the details of the dragon she had painted closely mirrored how the dragon that was his zanpakuto looked. The dragon nudged his master's attention in the direction of the reflection on the water…

It wasn't that Toshiro hadn't seen it… well he hadn't but he would have… He was still taking in the fact that he had been given a present. Something that had been made by someone else for him. Not something bought… something made. It carried a great deal more weight and much more value. It was a thank you… and never before had he been given a thank you that he could say compared to this. He blinked as he saw Hyourinmaru reflected in the water of the painting…

He looked up at Erisia then, blinking… "I am honored to receive such a token of thanks." He says softly… awe ever so slightly threading his tone.

Hyourinmaru must not have been happy with his accepting her gift because the cold energy of the dragon swirled up in that moment, and swirled around Erisia. It left her with a chill and a strange feeling like her head was spinning slightly. Of course that was a great deal of reiatsu and she was not yet accustomed to feeling such things. Hitsugaya had felt what his zanpakuto had done and saw Erisia shiver. "Hyourinmaru wanted to thank you as well. He believes you captured his likeness with exceptional skill." He explains.

She looked at him slightly confused which he noticed. "The dragon in the water… that is the reflection of the mountains. Hyourinmaru takes the form of a dragon of ice and you have nearly perfectly recreated that image here." He explains.

She was now left blinking. "The scene came to me in a dream. The snowy scenery did not really stick out to me… It was that reflection in the water that stuck with me once I returned to wakefulness." She explains.

"You have been around me enough and you have sensed Hyourinmaru's presence before… it is likely that your subconscious picked up on that and then relayed it to you while you slept." He explains. That made some sense… at least it sounded like it should make sense.

"I am glad you both like it. I had not really known what to paint for you… but then that dream cleared everything up… You had said that you wielded the strongest ice type after all.. And it seemed to me that you would likely find a quiet, isolated place like that to be quite peaceful."

"You are correct in that. I have always liked the cold, wintry weather. I cannot bear the heat."

"I have some very fond memories of the winter. My mother always used to tell me that we were never too old to play… She would be out there with me in the snow, making snow angels, building snowmen and having snowball fights with me… I think she played harder than I did. Then we'd come inside and she would make homemade hot cocoa… it was always a good time." She explains.

He marveled at how she so unabashedly shared tidbits of her past. She seemed to have no issues with it. Meanwhile his life was a very closed book. Of course being a prodigy one had to make some sacrifices and the first thing to go for him, was his childhood. He had never thought to look at things in the manner which her mother had. Of never being too old to play. That did not mean however that he was just going to turn around and change. It was a nice thought but the reality was that he would likely never change.

Which was probably part of the reason that Erisia was so set on befriending the prodigy. He seemed like he needed someone that he could just talk to. Erisia knew what that was like. After her mother passed away she had pretty much been alone. She knew how much it had sucked for her and she imagined that it had to be a great deal worse for Captain Hitsugaya, even if he hid it well.

"I am glad both you and Hyourinmaru like the painting." She says with a smile. Toshiro just nods. His mind was still trying to wrap around the fact that he had been given such a present and just because he had shared some knowledge and conversation with the girl. She was a rare person indeed. He was too used to more thoughtless than thoughtful people. His mind went to where to put it and Hyourinmaru suggested the office… as it was where they spent more of their time and the wall behind his own desk had been barren for quite some time.

"I should leave you to return to your work… But thank you again… I am not sure that even giving you a present will convey how much I appreciate and enjoy the conversations we had. I have never…" She pauses… "I have never really had many people to talk to. I know that you are a Captain and all but I found it oddly easy to talk to you. Most of the people I knew in the living world weren't very good conversationalists - at least not in regards to intelligent conversation. I just hope that it didn't disrupt your work too badly." She says with a small smile.

"You are welcome, Erisia-san… and thank you as well. Though it was a slight distraction, I enjoyed the conversations as well." He says in a neutral tone. He did not admit that it was some of the only 'normal' conversation he had… He was not forthcoming with such things as she was… He was a little stunned that despite his oft gruff and icy demeanor that she had still found it easy to talk to him. She was a strange one indeed… but he was starting to think that it was something he should appreciate. "Good day to you Erisia-san." He says with less of a scowl and a bit of a nod as she made her way to the door.

It was time to return to the 6th squad now… and to put Renji's pondering to an end at last. She was happy that things had gone so well so far. Everyone seemed to really like the paintings - which was something she hadn't really been certain of. She didn't really know these people all that well and had been choosing things based off of what little she did know and then hoping it would turn out alright. It seemed her intuition was better than she gave herself credit for.

She waves to the guys at the 6th squad gate and heads onward to the office. This was the only place that she didn't have to wait to be announced at… Something she was glad for. She knocks on the door though just to alert the guys that someone was there. Byakuya's curt 'Enter.' rang out and she made her way inside. "Good afternoon, Captain Kuchiki… Renji." She says with a smile as she slips into the office.

"Good afternoon, Erisia-san." Byakuya says as he briefly looks up from his paperwork to greet her. Renji took note of that because Byakuya did not do that with many people.

"Afternoon, Eri-chan." Renji says as he pauses in his paperwork for a few moments… any break he could take, he took… He hated paperwork with a passion.

She had made certain that Yuriko had a lunch basket with some onigiri and such made up and delivered so that the guys would eat lunch at least… She would have delivered it herself, but she was busy with other things at the time.

"So, what brings you down today? Thank you by the way for sending lunch over…" Renji says as he stretches in his seat, feelings some of the tension from sitting so long ease as his back pops.

"I've been making my rounds… delivering presents." Erisia says with a smirk in her voice.

Renji perked up at that. "Have you now?"

"I have. There's only one present left to deliver." She baits.

"So there's another for the Captain then?" Renji asks, watching her carefully.

"No… he was not the one who was teaching me zanjutsu. Though I suppose I could have made him another one…" She muses.

Oh now Renji was really curious. Damn that girl! Byakuya was finding amusement in the interaction. He could tell from the way Renji's reiatsu was fluctuating that he was curious as hell and trying to not make her give him the present. It was quite amusing - especially since Erisia seemed to purposely be drawing things out.

She sits down in her usual spot and begins rummaging through her bag. "Now where did it get to." She muses in a strange tone that almost sounded worried. Of course it was in there and she knew exactly where it was but watching Renji squirm was just too much fun.

Byakuya took the opportunity to make some tea which would give him a better chance to watch things unfold. It was infinitely amusing how deftly Erisia had managed to push the curiosity button. Renji was trying so hard to be patient but she was testing the limits of his patience… Renji was after all not known for being very patient.

Right before his control would have broken, Erisia produced a scroll case from her bag. It was as if she had known precisely when to do so… Of course she had become much more adept at reading reiatsu and Renji was broadcasting fairly loudly so it couldn't have been that hard to realize he was reaching his limit. Renji was watching the scroll case intently.

He had known she was making presents for people after all… and the one night he'd been over for dinner he had actually been granted a glimpse of the one she'd made for Byakuya… so he was aware that she had some skill in painting. He'd only caught the briefest glimpse of the one in Byakuya's private office but he'd still seen it.

"Here it is." She says with a chuckle… And she looks to Renji. He was trying to look… mildly interested but he wasn't being very successful at it.

"You want this, I take it?" Erisia asks, her tone playful, switching the scroll case from hand to hand and watching with amusement as Renji's gaze followed it. She giggles outright when he half absently nods yes. But the curiosity was getting to him. She'd been baiting him damned near all week after all. A person could only take so much. At least, Renji could only take so much.

Byakuya was silently hoping that this would resolve soon… because the desire to laugh was getting stronger and stronger… It was just a funny scene. Erisia eyes Renji and then stands up and holds the scroll case out to him. It must have taken every ounce of willpower he had left to not snatch it from her and tear it open.

He takes it from her and makes himself carefully open it. He pulls out the scroll and unfurls it as slowly as he can manage so he doesn't damage the canvas. He was quite surprised by the painting. She'd created a twistingly intricate series of tribal designs that looked partially based off of the tattoos he bore but somehow not as well. It was not what he'd been expecting…. But he liked it. Of course he liked it. He'd marked himself with similar after all.

"You're mind is insane…. To think to do tribals like this and intertwine them… skilled but insane." He comments with a chuckle. "I like it… a lot. Thanks Eri." He says as he moves from his desk and gives her a strong brotherly hug in thanks.

She smiles. "I'm glad. I thought you would, considering your tattoos… I just couldn't think of any other subjects that would really suit you." She explains. He nods at that. Made sense. He moves back to his desk and sets about working on tacking the painting up behind his desk… More of his personality in the room. He liked that… Made it feel a little less like it was Byakuya's space that he was just taking up.

Byakuya had returned to his desk and his paperwork. He had looked up however when he heard Renji tacking it up to the wall. He didn't mind… It was after all, Renji's part of the office. "Quite intricate work Erisia-san… your mind is quite detailed." He comments. She blushes slightly at his words… "Thank you." She says softly. Now it was Renji's turn to be amused.

"So what do you have planned for the rest of the day, Eri-chan?" Renji asks.

"Nothing really. I've made all my deliveries now."

"You waited until last for me?" He asks.

"You were pestering me about it ever since you found out I was making presents… So yes, I had to torment you just a little for the pestering. Call it payback." She laughs.

"You're getting to be horrible Eri-chan." Renji protests.

"If I am it is your fault…" She points out. He was about to protest but had to shut his mouth because she was right… None of the other people she was interacting with would have had that sort of influence on her - not even Yumi. Yumi was too much into the pretty things to be a bad influence on someone. Of course Yumi could have been teaching Erisia to fight dirty… but he would save that for when she came back from the Academy…

Renji just ends up laughing. "I suppose you're right Eri." He mutters shaking his head. He sits back down at his desk… "Too bad you couldn't figure out a way to get me out of paperwork…" He muses.

"Not my job to do your paperwork for you Renji. You're the Lieutenant, you have a responsibility… and maybe if you focused on doing it instead of sitting there trying to find a way out of it, you'd get it done faster." She reminds him.

"Hey, whose side are you on anyway?" He asks.

She smirks. "My side." She quips…

The little smart ass… When had Eri become a little smart ass like that? He was just left sitting there blinking… finally he shakes his head and goes back to work. Erisia chuckles and returns to her claimed spot. It was late afternoon now… the formal work day would end soon enough and she could return to the estate then.


	20. Parties and Payback?

How did time move so quickly? It seemed like only just yesterday she had just arrived in this strange world called Soul Society… and now, she was almost at the Academy already. Weeks dwindled to mere days. She couldn't abide sitting idly in the house - as beautiful as it was - she wanted to experience more and see more before she had to go resign herself to school.

She was clad in a simple lavender yukata that only made her coloring seem that much more beautiful. It was still warm enough for the simpler garment. She was eternally grateful to have been allowed to do some shopping to get some more Soul Society appropriate attire. Of course she wasn't going to get much use out of it soon. Her uniforms for the academy had arrived after all and soon that was going to be the most common thing to find her in. Still at least she no longer entirely stood out…

If it hadn't been for Rukia loaning her some shihakusho to wear she didn't know what she would have done. She had finally become accustomed to the flow of things both in the Kuchiki house and in the areas of Soul Society she frequented. Soon she would have to acclimate herself all over again… She was nervous but also excited… and a little bit fearful.

She had been told in no uncertain terms that she was to keep the fact that she was from Karakura town a secret. She was not to speak of how she had come to be in Soul Society until she had graduated from the Academy. It was after all a very rare and unprecedented circumstance. The story she was to tell them was that her mother had been in the employ of the Kuchiki family and to leave it at that. She had been afforded an education, had learned to comport herself in a manner befitting someone connected with a noble house and that was it.

Any other little details if she chose to fill them in at all were to be vague and to in no way implicate that she had ever been anywhere else. It was a daunting thing for her. She didn't really want to have to lie to people. Of course she understood that it was a very strange thing that had brought her here. Of course if that truth came to be known then the truth about having learned so much from so many ranking members of the Gotei would come out and she was even more uncomfortable with that.

She was honored to have been allowed to learn at the feet of the people who had agreed to teach her. She intended to make them all very proud by putting what they taught her to good use and graduating from the Academy to join them as Shinigami… However, Eri was not a person to name drop and the idea of what people were likely to think when they heard it was something that made her slightly dizzy to think on.

She wanted to be judged not by who she knew, but by what she did. She was fearful that if it got out to the students that she had been granted training that there would be all sorts of feelings and things she didn't want to deal with. She wasn't really any different than they were. She'd had an opportunity and she took it, but she certainly wasn't about to think that she was better than anyone because of it. She sighed and shook such thoughts from her head. The nearer it came to time for her to leave the more nervous she seemed to get.

So she thought to distract herself for a little while. She decided that she would go and volunteer a little bit of time at the 4th. She knew basic first aid and basic healing kido and she could always help out in small ways. It was always appreciated and she knew that. Of course Captain Unohana wouldn't let her stay very long… The wise woman insisted that Erisia try to enjoy her last days before she had to attend the Academy… For she would be quite busy when she got there.

Hanataro had been returning as Erisia was leaving. She waved to him and greeted him warmly and they passed some small talk. Unohana had been watching to make certain that Erisia left and smiled at how much calmer Hanataro seemed lately. He was really shaping up into a fine healer. He'd just needed some time to come into his own that was all. It seemed that selecting him to teach Erisia basic healing kido had been a wise decision.

It had shown him that his Captain had faith in his skills and it bolstered that fragile spirit. He had been pranked and picked on for so long now that he was stunted by it all. But through this, he was finding confidence in himself and his abilities and he was learning to trust in that. It was what Unohana had hoped when she'd selected him for the task. He bowed politely and greeted his captain, looking back toward the gate to watch Erisia leave.

There was something weighing heavily in the air around him. "Is something troubling you Yamada-san?" Unohana asks gently.

"I was just thinking that someone should… do something nice for Erisia-san. She painted all of those pictures for us… and even though she's going off to the Academy soon she's still going around trying to help everyone…" He muses.

"What is it you suggest should be done for her?"

"I do not really know Captain Unohana… but she's leaving in a few days… and maybe… it would be nice if we… did something." He says softly. He wasn't really sure what to do. He was still a bit socially inept after all and for all he meant well, that was about as far as he could think to go right now.

"Would you suggest then a going away party perhaps?" She offers.

He perked up at this. "Perhaps… but I'm not sure she'd like a big party… but maybe we could all get together and have dinner with her to send her off… But I guess that's still a party - huh?" He asks with a little chuckle, nervously running his hand through his hair.

Unohana smiled. "That is a lovely idea, Yamada-san. Who would you invite?"

He blinks and thinks about that. "Well of course Captain Kuchiki and Erisia… Lieutenants Abarai and Hinamori… You and myself… Rikichi since he was helping her train too since Lieutenant Abarai didn't want her getting hurt while she learned zanjutsu…" He muses… "Uh…Oh Yumichika Ayasegawa was teaching her too…. And I overheard Yachiru mentioning liking Eri-chan the last time I had to go tend some wounds in the 11th…. She was always running errands to the 10th squad so maybe we should see if Captain Hitsugaya would want to come as well… I guess just all of the people who have been training her and helping her since she got here." He explains.

"I think that's a lovely idea. I shall bring it up to Captain Kuchiki. I have to see to a few things near the 6th squad anyway." Unohana says with a smile and she could swear that at hearing his Captain agree with him… Hanataro lit up like a kid at Christmas… More people needed to treat him in this manner. He was such a sweet soul.

True to her word, Captain Unohana stopped in and spoke with Byakuya. He asked the usual questions and much to his credit only winced slightly at the idea of actually inviting Yachiru into his home. Of course he had learned that she would behave to an extent if the situation was presented correctly. He did however like the idea of a dinner party. All of the people she had been learning from had certainly come to think fondly of her at the least and some downright adored her as a friend or as a younger sister. It was something he had noticed during the conversations he'd had with her instructors.

Even the oft fickle Yachiru seemed to be a staunch supporter, of course this could likely be the work of the Living World candy she'd been given who could tell for certain? He too had certainly grown accustomed to her presence and had come to enjoy their conversations. If there was more than that, he would not yet admit it to himself much less anyone else. Such was not a noble's way.

Renji was all for the idea as well. They decided that perhaps the last night before she was to leave for the Academy would be the best time - it gave them a little extra time to set everything up and it would give her a proper send off. With that worked out, Unohana offered to make her rounds and pass out the invitations as it were in that manner. Byakuya nodded and immediately began to pen a missive instructing the house staff of this so they would have that much more time to put everything in motion.

As for Renji? He promised to keep his mouth shut about it… Payback he said for her making him agonize for a week about what she was working on. Which got a chuckle out of Unohana and the Byakuya equivalent there of out of his Captain. Leave it to Eri-chan's self appointed big brother to equate party and payback into the same idea.


	21. Shopping and Serenity

The verbal invitations had been 'delivered' and the plans for a good luck dinner went into motion. Each person that had been able to spend time with Erisia, and to get to know the young woman was glad to be able to do something other than help her train. Of course Yachiru was also excited to actually be invited to something at Byakuya's estate.

While life in the Seireitei went on as usual, there were a few people who were also quietly bustling about for other reasons. Yachiru came upon her fifth seat wrapping something and she found herself confused. It wasn't anyone's birthday that they cared to celebrate, that she knew of, so what was he up to? "Whatcha doin' Feathers?" Yachiru asked as she hopped down from her perch and moved closer to inspect what was going on.

"I am wrapping a gift for Eri-chan." Yumi said in a simple tone as though it should be obvious.

"We're supposed to give gifts?" Yachiru asked as she tried to discern what it was he'd been wrapping but all she could see was a long box…

"It is something of a custom to in parties of this nature. For the luck of the one going away." He explains.

Yachiru pondered those words. Eri was nice… she wasn't a violent person but she was still… nice… She'd given her candy after all… Eri had specifically chosen treats she herself enjoyed to share them with Yachiru. Most people never put much thought into the sweets they gave her… "Oh… Well then… What should I get her?" She asks.

Yumi blinked in surprise at his little lieutenant. That she actually wanted to give Erisia something… there were after all only a very small number of people that Yachiru would actually give anything to. "Well, whatever you would like really. Just a small gift to wish her luck and to remind her of the friend she has gained in you. I did not realize that you were so fond of her." He says with a smile.

Yachiru just shrugs. "Well yeah. I mean she's nice. She ain't really a fighter but she gave me candy… Candy she liked and wanted to share with me… And she even played hide and seek with me - willingly. Besides, Byakushi actually seems to really like her. And if HE really likes someone, they've gotta be good to be friends with - right?" She asks, watching Yumi carefully.

Yumi chuckled at her logic but he supposed he had to agree with it. It was exceptionally rare for the Captain of the 6th squad to take interest in anyone even in the most vague of ways. "I suppose you are right, Lieutenant. Come on then, let's find something for you to give Eri-chan." He says as he finishes wrapping his present and carefully puts it in a drawer in his room so nothing would happen to it.

Yachiru's first idea was to get Eri some candy. Candy that she liked and could share back with Eri. It was very thoughtful, but Yumi suggested that just in case she found the temptation of the konpeito to be too strong she should perhaps also get something that was not edible. Yachiru looked offended at first, considered his words and decided that maybe it would be best just in case… but it was only just in case.

"So what other thing would you like to get for Erisia?" He asks as they pass a variety of shops… Yachiru thought deeply about that…

"Well she's not much of a fighter spirit… so maybe something to help her protect herself. I know she'll have a zanpakuto soon enough but maybe she should have something smaller, something she could hide under her pillow that way if someone tries something she doesn't like she can just pull it out…" Yachiru muses, bouncing along, sucking on a lollipop that Yumi had allowed her to buy for herself.

He couldn't help but chuckle… Leave it to his lieutenant to think that a weapon would be a good gift. Well it would certainly be a reminder of Yachiru - that was certain. He led her to a shop that sold weapons of all sort and with a very discerning eye Yachiru perused every last sword, tanto and other weapon in the place.

She paced back towards where the tanto were kept and eyed them. "I think this size would be good… don't you? Small enough to hide better." She comments and Yumi only nods. It was so odd seeing this side of Yachiru that he couldn't help but be held transfixed by it. The proprietor of the shop had looked at them suspiciously until he spied the Lieutenant's badge on Yachiru's arm.

She was looking and looking, picking them up and inspecting them all closely. Then she found one that was in a simple wooden sheath that had been stained to look like rosewood. It was simple but the color was beautiful… Still it was so plain… and Eri wasn't really plain…

"Is there something wrong, Miss?" The proprietor asks.

"Huh? Oh no, not really. This is a pretty color but it's so plain…" She muses…

"When do you need it?" He asks.

"Well the person it is for is leaving in a few days… we're having a going away party… in three days time. So that's how long." Yachiru says.

"Well I could add some carving on the sheath if you like… to be done in the time allotted it would have to be kept fairly simple…"

Yachiru perked up at this. "Hey Feathers, what do you think would be good to carve on it?" She asks… He thinks about it… "Well there is a symbol she painted in the corner of the painting she made for me that is by where she signed her name. I believe she mentioned it was something dear to her family… and she did mark herself with it… Sakura blossoms with something near like kanji in it - it's a seal of sort… But maybe just a few sakura blossoms and perhaps the kanji for her name and maybe almost hidden on it, the kanji for your own, Lieutenant?" Yumi asked.

Yachiru tapped her chin as she pondered his idea. "Well she does live with Byakushi too and well there's lots of sakura around there… So yeah that sounds good a few sakura just a few nothing that would be silly… but still something pretty… and I like that… Hiding the kanji for my name on it so she doesn't forget who gave it to her… and maybe amid the blossoms then the kanji for her name. You're calligraphy is soooo much prettier than mine Feather's why don't you write it all out for the man." She says with a big smile.

Yumi preened at the flattery. Leave it to Yachiru to know best how to wind everyone around her, around her little fingers. He wrote out the kanji in elegant script for the man. "What color would you like the carving stained?" the man asks.

"Hmmm would blood red be bad with the rosewood?" Yachiru asked…

"I can mix a color that is far more red that should work with it, yes." The man explains.

"Good use that and can you make it shiny?"

"I can add some lacquer to it, to seal the wood more and make it shiny."

"Perfect." She giggles as she hops up on the counter and they haggle over price. Yachiru was absolutely ruthless when it came to it. She was smarter than her peers gave her credit for. She had a pretty good eye for what she liked and a damned good head for what seemed more fair. The shop keeper never had a chance. As they walked away, Yumi couldn't help but comment. "You never cease to disturb me with how well you do that, Lieutenant." He chuckles only to receive an outrageous grin in reply.

Everyone who had been invited was currently going through a similar process of finding some small token to give to the girl who had touched their lives each in some small way. She might not think much of how she had interacted with them but they thought a great deal about how she comported herself and how she interacted with the people and world around herself. She had made quite the impact on the people that she had met and spoken with at length. They liked that it wasn't some conscious ploy on her part but that it was rather just part of who she was. It was a beautiful thing.

All of this was going on around her with Erisia having no inkling as to any of it. She had busied herself sketching and things of that nature. She filled one of the sketchbooks she brought with her with things that she would like to remember fondly while she was at the Academy… Of course if anyone ever saw any of the sketches there, she might have to answer some very odd questions, but hopefully her roommate would respect her privacy…

She paused in her sketching and decided to take a walk to stretch her legs and clear her mind. The Estate was quite large and its grounds quite sprawling. She took a walk among the flowering trees. She thought of her mother and wondered if the woman's spirit was here in soul society somewhere. Her mother wouldn't remember her, but she hoped that her mother was not having a hard time… that she was finding a peace in this life that she hadn't known when she had been in the living world.

She made her way out to a rock that was right in front of one of the trees, it made for a nice place to sit. She sat upon it, leaning her back against the trunk of the tree. She closed her eyes and turned her face up toward the warmth of the sun. Many things flitted through her head. She missed her mother terribly. She wondered also what her mother would think if she could see her daughter now. Here in this world, setting herself down a path to become a guardian of a sort. She was going to learn how to fight and use spirit magic to protect people. She thought her mother would probably be proud.

She wasn't really napping but she was gently dozing there against the tree. She had on a simple yukata that was a darker purple. Her hair was down, spilling about her shoulders. It was long enough to need pulled back now. She looked almost peaceful… her mind shifting through memories of her mother and also filling in with dreams of conversations that had never been able to take place..

In her dream, they were at a park her mother had taken her to… Erisia was sitting on one of the swings and her mother another.

"I miss you so much okaasan." Erisia says with a small sigh.

"I know my dear one… but you have grown up so well. I am always with you, you know."

"I know. It is just that these last several months have been quite difficult… So much has happened."

"Yet here you are… Stronger for the experiences. I am proud of you Eri-chan." Her mother says in a warm tone.

"I admit I am very nervous about what is coming. I have grown accustomed to living in Soul Society… I will miss the people I have come to know… And I worry about what will happen at the Academy. So many secrets and so many worries."

"You will be fine Erisia. I know this… Just have faith in yourself , do your best and I know that you will succeed. " Her mother coaxes.

Erisia smiled. "Still it is going to be another adjustment… and I will miss not seeing them every day."

"You mean you will miss not seeing Him everyday." Her mother chuckles.

Erisia couldn't help but blush at that. "I know it is probably silly of me… But there is just something so drawing about him. Did you know that I had dreams of his family crest before I ever met him? I have heard other people say that he is like and Ice Prince… but I do not find him that way. He is reserved and often stoic but there is so very much more to him than that. Perhaps it is a good thing I must leave soon for the Academy…" She sighs.

"I do not think that it is as one sided as you seem to believe. Just give it time, Erisia. Let it happen in its own time. It will be much sweeter that way."

The conversation continued in her dream, addressing all of the worries and concerns Erisia had been hiding…. But it was bittersweet enough that in the waking world, a single tear slid down her cheek. Since she had drifted off she was unaware of the world outside her dreamscape. She was still leaning there against the tree, one hand in her lap, the other had fallen to her side.

Byakuya found her like this… She looked so delicate just then. Like a china doll propped up there. He stayed back, watching her for a time… Things came unbidden to his mind. She looked so lovely, even in that simple purple yukata. Of course if he had to admit it to himself, she had looked quite lovely in simple Living World jeans and a t-shirt as well. So far, he would have to judge that she had looked the loveliest in the black kimono that looked like it was a piece of the night sky.

He shook himself from his inner thoughts. It was inappropriate to think in such a manner. Yet he had began to like having her in the house. It made it seem warmer somehow… It was then that he noticed the shimmer on her cheek and drew closer. He realized it was a tear and wondered what had caused it. Her face did not seem overly sad… Yet there was a slightly bitter note to her reiatsu. He almost felt ashamed of himself for standing her watching her like this… Yet he couldn't resist the temptation of the opportunity either.

Soon she would be at the Academy… and he would once more be virtually alone in the Estate… Why did that thought bother him at all? It would soon be dinner time so he resolved to put an end to his moment of weakness and to awaken her. "Erisia-san…" He calls out gently.

Dark lashes flutter against her cheeks… and a light blush creeps across her skin as she realizes she'd fallen asleep. She hadn't meant to… Of course she had pushed herself a great deal to get all of those paintings done so perhaps it was catching up to her. "I am sorry… I had not realized I was so tired. I came out for a walk and decided to sit and enjoy the scenery for a bit." She says quietly.

His eyes smiled at her though it did not touch his lips… "You are not the only one that has found the serenity here strong enough to pull one into its embrace." He says with something almost amused in his tone. "Dinner will be ready soon." He informs her.

"I am going to miss this place… when I go to the Academy." She says softly…looking down.

It was amusing that she had come to get so comfortable here considering how uncomfortable she had been at first. "There are breaks usually after the major tests.. You will be allowed to return here unless you'd rather stay at the academy."

"I will miss not having breakfast with you in the morning… and bringing you and Renji lunch." She chuckles.

"And we will miss you as well. But when you graduate from the Academy, Erisia you will be a Shinigami. You will be a formal part of a squad… You will be able to protect people… And you will be able to rejoin us for lunch again." He says in a strange tone. He hadn't really meant to admit that he would miss her as well… but it was in there. Everyone she had met and become acquainted with had been speaking of the fact that it was going to be strange not seeing her around while she was at the Academy.

An odd thought struck Erisia just then… She looks away… before cautiously looking back to him as she gathered the courage to speak the words… "Will I be allowed to return here after I graduate from the Academy?" She asks carefully.

Byakuya was actually a little caught off guard by the question. "If it is your wish, Erisia you will always be welcome here." He affirms. She might want to stay with whatever squad she was assigned, but if she really wished to return to the Estate… he would not stop her. And if a small part of him desperately hoped that she did return… Well that was a thought better left not acknowledge. He quickly shoved it away into a deep, dark corner of his mind…

"Thank you, Byakuya." She says with a small smile on her lips… Remembering that so long as they were alone she could call him by his given name.

Why did his chest feel ever so slightly tight when she spoke his name? He forced himself to not think of such a topic… It was just not his way. He was not this person. He might have been once upon a time but he could not be now… It would be for the best if this was left alone… But a small part of him, long since buried and reduced to but mere embers tried to keep that small desire alive.


	22. Subterfuge Surprise

It seemed like in the blink of an eye, the day of the party arrived. It was so hard to believe that this was the last day she would spend here until she graduated from the Academy. All of the preparations had been made, now there was just the small matter of executing everything and getting everyone to the Estate without Erisia being the wiser. That was going to prove to be quite the task. In suggesting she take the last days to herself she wasn't out running errands or having lessons which made this a little harder to pull off.

The cooking wasn't conspicuous, Eri seldom went into the kitchen so she would just figure they were preparing dinner as usual. It was more getting everything else in place. If she came in at the wrong time they're surprise would be undone. Byakuya had pondered this as the kitchen staff went about their work… Though he could ask her to join him on a walk, it would likely seem a little suspicious he reasoned.

While they had walked together before, the walks were usually short and very little was said if anything. Setting things up would require more time than that. He decided to confer with Captain Unohana on the matter. While it had been her 7th seat's idea to throw a party for Erisia, it had been Unohana who had come to him with it… He sends her a hell butterfly stating the problem. Soon enough, the black winged messenger returns.

~ I will take care of that… All you need to do is find an inconspicuous way to get Nakayama-san here.~

He pondered that. He did have a few files that he'd been going over that he was finished with. It would not be too difficult to convince Erisia to deliver them. He could state that he had some clan business to attend to… A credible enough story. There almost always seemed to be something for him to do. Luckily the opportunity presented itself when Erisia showed up to bring them some snacks. Yes, he supposed Renji was right, she had spoiled them in making sure there was always food while they were working… It was going to take some getting used to in returning to the way things had been before.

"Erisia-san, I know it is your last day before you must leave for the Academy, however could I ask you the small favor of returning these files to Captain Unohana for me. I have a few matters of clan business to attend to." Byakuya says in that same neutral tone.

She smiles. "I do not mind at all… I am glad to be helpful…" She says with a small bow. She takes the folders and departs.

She really was going to miss all of this. It was too bad she had to go to the Academy. Oh she wanted to, it was just that she'd fallen into a rhythm and she was reluctant to leave this familiar place now. Ah well, nothing would be accomplished if she sat idle. To become someone that could protect innocent people she had to go to the Academy not wallow away in the comfort of a routine.

She makes her way to the 4th squad barracks. She'd traversed this path so many times now that she could likely do it with her eyes closed. But that was neither here nor there. She greets the Shinigami at the gates of the 4th and states her business. Soon enough she'd granted permission to go to Captain Unohana's office.

Unohana greets her with a warm smile. "Good afternoon, Erisia-san. I trust you are well?"

"Yes, I am quite well, Captain Unohana, thank you for asking. I came to drop these off for Captain Kuchiki since he had some clan business to attend to." She explains as she hands over the files.

"Thank you Erisia-san. Do you have time to stay for some tea?" Unohana asks. Eri smiles and sits down. They drink some tea and converse. Eri asks about the Academy and what it was like when Unohana attended it… Things of that nature. They speak about ikebana and Unohana asks Eri about what squad she was thinking she might like to end up in when she graduates.

"Oh I haven't really given that a lot of thought. However I have spent enough time at the 4th, 5th, 6th and 10th squads that I know the most about them. Though I do not think that I could belong to the 6th… Renji having taken to thinking of me as his little sister might make working together award." She chuckles. Of course Unohana knew that it was far more than just Renji… For now however she allowed Erisia to make her excuses.

"I do not think I could belong to the 8th. Given my history… As nice as I am sure Captain Kyoraku is, the fact that sake is quite a common place thing around him would make me uncomfortable. I do not think I would be suited to the 2nd squad either. I can be quiet when needed but I suppose I'm just not 2nd material. And I don't think I need bother mentioning the 11th. While I have found an unusual friendship with its Lieutenant I am most certainly not a bloodthirsty warrior." She says with a smile and a small laugh.

"I do not know much about the 1st, 3rd, 7th, or 9th squads so I could not speak of them either. From what I have come to know of Captain Ukitake, I do not think I would mind being a member of his squad… Though I believe his rambunctious third seats would certainly be an interesting daily challenge." She explains.

Unohana was glad that Erisia had been giving some thought to the topic. While it was true that she still had to attend and graduate from the Academy, it never hurt to start thinking about those things early. "As you go through the academy, it will become clearer and clearer which squad will be a better fit for you. Though you may start out in one squad and end up in another. It is all about learning and growing and coming into your own power. I am sure that you will do well, Erisia-san. You have worked hard to this point and I have faith that you will do your best once you are there. So long as you do that, it will not matter where you end up." Unohana says with a smile.

After a while, a hell butterfly came in the window and flitted near Unohana until she opened her palm for it to land on. They were ready. Good. "I do not want to keep you too long Erisia-san. I know you likely want to enjoy this last day of freedom before the Academy as much as you can." She says with the lightest of chuckles. "I have a few things to discuss with Captain Kuchiki so I will walk you back to the manor. I am sure if he had Clan Business that he has left the office for the day already." She muses as she puts all of the things for tea back on their tray.

She rises and Eri follows her out. It was a pleasant day for a walk, well evening now. The air was still mild, though it seemed that the weather changed very little inside the walls of the gotei. She didn't mind it entirely, but she would miss the seasons. She had loved playing in the snow in winter and watching the cherry blossoms and going to the festivals. She would miss that. Of course perhaps she could at some later point engineer a day here and there to nudge all of the friends she had made into the Living World to share in these things. It was an idea at least.

They made casual banter as they progressed from the gotei proper out to where the Kuchiki estate lay. Erisia enjoyed it… Walking like this with Unohana was almost like the walks she used to take with her mother. Granted she was more friends with Unohana, but the healer had that deeply nurturing nature to her, and while formidable Erisia couldn't make herself be fearful of the woman. That was unless Unohana's tone did that scary drop thing.

It didn't take them long to finally get there even though they did not use shunpo. Captain Unohana seemed just as reluctant to let the walk end. As they passed through the gates to the grounds, Eri felt just the slightest pang. She was certainly going to miss being here… She forced such thoughts from her mind and tried to cling to the happy side of this… She did not want her last night here to be filled with sadness. Eri had no idea at all that there was going to be some definite happy memories to come.

The hardest part of setting all of this up, was not in keeping it secret from Erisia. Though she was possessed of an artist's detailed eye, there were enough things that she did not know about that such plans could be disguised amid those seemingly innocuous, daily tediums. Such as clan business. Though head of one of the 4 noble houses, Byakuya did not often have clan business… At least not so frequently. Thankfully there was a wealth of things that Erisia did not know about Soul Society's nobility.

The hardest part was keeping certain people quiet. Yumi was tittering on about this that and the other… and let's not even mention Yachiru. Once he'd received the hell butterfly from Captain Unohana, Byakuya had begun making the final preparations. Everyone was seated around the table in the formal dining room… and he was trying desperately to get Yachiru to quiet down and to tone down her reiatsu. They wanted to surprise Eri after all.

"Lieutenant Kusajishi, please I must implore you to control your reiatsu and to keep your voice down. Erisia-san and Captain Unohana are on their way. You want to surprise Erisia-san, don't you?" Byakuya asks, trying to keep patient…

"Well yeah." Comes the reply with an eye roll.

"Then please calm yourself until after we have surprised Erisia-san."

Yachiru sighed and frumped at the table, she was trying, but it was too boring sitting there all quiet. Yumi was the one that saved the day. "Yachiru, just pretend you're being quiet so you can create a new tunnel…" he suggests. Byakuya was not grateful for the subject Yumi chose, but if it got Yachiru to stop bouncing in her seat and making those too loud noises, he would weather it.

Then of course there was how a certain demon cat had shown up on his doorstep not 10 minutes before the hell butterfly arrived. He sighed and reluctantly allowed her to join… Provided she turn back into a human and so long as she dressed appropriately. Of course for a small period of time it seemed that Yoruichi Shihoin was bent on pushing him to flash tag… At least until he'd mentioned that Unohana and Erisia were on their way. At least then he only had to focus on silencing Yachiru.

It was left to appear as though it was just another normal night at the Kuchiki house. Their presence was announced and the servants answered the door. He was seated at the smaller table as he usually was… when Unohana and Erisia were led in. He made some polite small talk with the women before stating that there was something both would have to see to believe. He and the 4th squad captain had worked this out before hand…

Erisia's curiosity was running rampant… What could there be to see? She follows and the view is hidden by the taller figures of the two captains but when they step aside, she can only stand there in shock. Particularly when everyone yells surprise and a certain ball of pink reiatsu glomps her… At least she was getting better at standing her ground when Yachiru pounced.

Unohana chuckles. "Indeed, Captain Kuchiki, who would have believed that it would be possible to get all these people in one place for the same reason without your poor Estate being turned upside down and inside out." She muses as she takes in the sight of the people gathered. Herself, Byakuya, Yoruichi, Hitsugaya, Hinamori, Yumichika, Yachiru, Rikichi, Renji and Hanataro… And of course Erisia. My what an odd bunch… But hopefully the night would go pleasantly enough despite the deeply different personalities gathered to see off their young friend.

Yoruichi smirked. "The night's still young, Captain Unohana." She chuckles as she ignores the glare sent to her from Bya-bo's direction.

"We decided to throw you a good luck party." Someone pipes up.

"It was Hanataro that suggested it." Unohana explains which leaves her 7th seat blushing, but smiling.

"Thank you all… so very much… I… I don't know what to say." Erisia says softly, stumbling slightly over her words as she tries to get her mind to get over the surprise.

"You can say let's eat!" Yachiru giggles.

Erisia smiles at that. "Perhaps that would be wise. I doubt any of us have eaten since lunch time…" She muses.

Byakuya nods and the servants start bringing in the food….


	23. The Party Part I

Aside from the tension created by Yoruichi, dinner was going fairly well. Of course there were also various instances of a bouncing Yachiru, but she seemed relatively calm - at least when compared with her usual demeanor. It was safe to say that dinner was hardly boring. Though from the occasional frown or other minute reaction one had to wonder if Byakuya wouldn't have preferred a more quiet evening. At least Erisia seemed to be having fun.

The party seemed to be going well as a whole. Momo was amusing herself with trying to verbally poke Toshiro out of his shell. At least the cold snap had quickly dissipated. Rikichi and Hanataro were engaged in conversation about something or other. The most troubling was of course Yoruichi. She had turned her focus in Renji's direction and seemed to be attempting to make the 6th squad's lieutenant blush redder than his hair.

"So, Renji… How much of your body do those tattoos cover?" Yoruichi asks, her tone innocent enough but her eyes blazed with a mirth and fire that betrayed the mischief at work.

Renji had been bringing the chopsticks to his lips when she asked the question, they hovered there as he blinked at her. She did not just ask him that question here of all places? Did she?

"Well Renji? I mean I can see the ones on your face and I think I've caught glimpses of them on your arms and the like while you were training… But just how low do they go?" Yoruichi continues. She was doing this to get reactions - she lived for them… She noticed the way the tops of Renji's ears went pink… She noticed the faint blush to Erisia's cheeks… And she noticed the way Byakuya was glaring at her. It really was too much fun.

"That is… not really any of your concern… Yoruichi-san." Renji says in a strange tone. He was trying to be… well he was trying to diffuse this and be somewhat serious but her words made it very hard to think properly. He was male after all and that look in her eyes… Hell.

"Well if you won't tell me more about yourself, Renji… Perhaps I should offer up some information first… Tell me, Renji just how much do you know about your Captain?" Yoruichi asks, watching Renji's reactions closely… Byakuya had tensed in his seat almost noticeably…

"I know what I need to know about my Captain." Renji says simply. He was answering without answering. It seemed that he had at least learned some things from hanging around Byakuya for so long.

"He was quite spirited as a teenager. Likely would have given you quite a run for your money back then." She began simply enough… Byakuya was now glaring at her.

"It was always so much fun inciting him to play flash tag with me." She chuckles.

"How… did you incite him to such a thing?" Renji asks carefully and tries to avoid looking in his Captain's direction… He was curious, he couldn't help it. Yoruichi's smirk only grew.

"Oh, I'd steal his hair ties for starters. He used to keep his hair back from his face then. Interrupting his kendo training was another good way… Teasing and taunting him and pushing every last button I could find generally sealed the deal quickly enough." She chuckles.

"Yoruichi…." Byakuya warns… He did not like where this was going. It was bad enough that she was speaking of his teenaged years - let alone in front of those gathered here this evening… But he knew her all too well to think she'd be satisfied with this alone… She now had everyone's rapt attention… even if most of them were trying to look like they were not hanging on any words the damned demon cat spoke.

If Bya-bo thought that the warning tone would make her stop, he had forgotten too much in her absence. "Of course one of the better times that I got to him… He was in the healing spring… and I do not think he was fully aware that I could transform into a cat at the time." She pauses for effect. Byakuya's glare was saying don't you dare…. So of course, she had to.

"I still cannot truly count the number of shades of red he turned that day." She laughs.

"That is enough Yoruichi… we are not here to discuss my youth… this is a party for Erisia… do try to keep that in mind." Byakuya corrects her… He thought he was weathering all of it fairly well - all things considered. Even Yachiru's bouncing and stealing food from people's plates wasn't really all that bad. He seemed both relieved and slightly dismayed that Yoruichi had targeted Renji. Relieved that she was not attempting to provoke him as per usual and dismayed because her topics of conversation were not at all table appropriate. He really should have expected as much.

Yoruichi pouted for a moment… but Byakuya was right. As much fun as it was taking the mickey out of him… It was hardly fair to Erisia… This was to be her going away party after all… Tomorrow the young woman would be going off to the Academy and aside from the brief breaks she would have, she would not truly be seen until she graduated… She did however fix Byakuya with a look that said they were going to have a conversation later - whether he liked it or not.

Erisia sat there talking with Unohana and Yumichika for the most part. She was also trying to not hear half of what was coming out of Yoruichi's mouth because she didn't want to blush several shades redder than Renji's hair. When she wasn't talking with Unohana or Yumi, she was keeping aware for cold snaps. If she felt one, she would then engage Momo in conversation long enough to give Toshiro some peace. Of course she had not missed the fact that his usual words of chiding had none of the frostbite to them when directed at Momo.

Of course it hadn't been possible to ignore everything that Yoruichi had been saying and she had started blushing… despite her best efforts to guard herself… Still the idea of Byakuya in a hot spring of any sort. It brought to mind things best left to the dark of night and privacy of heated dreams. She couldn't help it, he was so hauntingly handsome… she was drawn to him despite her best attempts to push such things away… It might not be proper but she was a woman damn it and it wasn't her fault that he seemed to be her exact type. She hadn't been aware she'd even had a type…At least not until she had truly met Byakuya…

Living with him wasn't helping… She was only growing more fond of him. The crush she had was attempting to develop into something more… and it was scary for her in a number of ways and for a number of reasons… So she hid it as best she could - even from herself… But such words as those that fell from Yoruichi's lips made the woman inside her wake back up and want all over again… At least another cold snap from Hitsugaya was enough to bring her back to reality before she could embarrass herself. Further conversations took her attention the rest of the way from any inappropriate thoughts - which was a very good thing in her subconscious estimation.

Once dinner had actually concluded, someone caused a little bit of a… commotion. Someone small and pink inquired, in what was likely supposed to be a whisper - but couldn't even be considered a stage whisper, about presents. Erisia was caught off guard by this. The dinner alone was a surprise but presents as well? That was too much, wasn't it? Soon enough, Byakuya was nodding to a servant and these presents were brought in.

There were several things of different sizes wrapped in various colors and styles. Yachiru bounded over to the piled and picked up a present wrapped in bright pink paper with a floppy bow on top of it and brought it over to Erisia. "Open mine first, Eri-chan." The small lieutenant said in a very bright, cheerful tone.

Eri could not help but smile. There was something about Yachiru's eternal childlike sunshine that just had that effect, at least when handled in small doses. She carefully removed the bow, setting it atop Yachiru's head which had the girl giggling up a storm. She opened the paper, not ripping into it or tearing it and setting it aside neatly. Inside the almost garishly pink paper was a box. On top of the box was a small bag of konpeito.

Yachiru looked sheepish for a moment. "The bag of konpeito was bigger when I started… But I like it too much I guess. Konpeito is my most favorite candy… and I wanted to share it with you like you shared your favorite candy with me… Sorry it didn't all make it to you." She says softly as she seemed to be examining a spot on the floor.

Eri smiled and touched the girl's shoulder. "It's alright Yachiru. I understand… But I am very glad even the small amount made it to me… Whether a big bag or a small one, you are still sharing your favorite candy with me. And that is what counts more than how much is in the bag." She says with a light chuckle. Yachiru perked up instantly and was grinning broadly once again.

"Open the box Eri… open it… open it." Yachiru giggled, bouncing in anticipation. She was particularly proud of the bigger present. And she was thanking Yumi for his foresight by not calling him nicknames other than Yumi and by staying out of his closet… If he didn't notice these things that wasn't her fault.

Eri opened the box carefully after all one could never guess what it was that Yachiru might put in anything… nor was Eri well versed in what Yachiru considered to be good presents. All she had to go on was the girl's personality in general and it left too much up for interpretation. Not that she was overly worried of course… she just didn't know how fragile or how tightly packed into said box the present might be.

She was quite stunned to find a tanto laid upon a simple cloth within it. It was simple, but beautiful. The wooden sheath was lacquered in a deeper shade of rosewood finish that had been sealed to give it a glossy shine. Then, a shade lighter and tinted more red than rose, were carved designs. Interspersed randomly and infrequently were cherry blossoms. She picked it up and studied the carvings. Hidden among the cherry blossoms on one side was the kanji for her name and hidden on the other side was the kanji for Yachiru's. It was quite a surprise to think that the girl had chosen this… Of course Eri was quite certain there was far more to the petite, pink haired, bubbly lieutenant but she hadn't been able to prove it until now.

"Thank you very much, Yachiru. This is quite beautiful." Erisia says softly… The other people gathered at the table had to agree.

"It's really sharp too… I figured since you don't like to fight that it might be handy for you to have a smaller weapon you could hide… So that if someone tries something you don't like you can stop 'em." Yachiru explains. Now Yachiru's choice was making much more sense for those that knew the lieutenant far longer… Yachiru logic hard at work - sometimes a very frightening thing.

"How thoughtful of you, thank you again, Yachiru."


	24. The Party Part II

Erisia decided to allow Yachiru to pick which present she opened up next. It seemed to amuse the girl and it kept her occupied well enough. Yachiru perused the pile as she walked around and around it. She seemed to be giving the pile of presents a very thorough examination. Her eyes kept going back to an orange package with golden ribbon. She was faced with a difficult choice… After having seen Yumi wrapping his present but not what it contained, she really wanted to see what was in it… But at the same time, her eyes kept going back to the orange and gold.

The paper was shiny and it was a thinner box… She bounced from one foot to the other as she pondered. Her mind finally made up, Yachiru grabbed the orange wrapped package and brought it to Eri-chan… She thought about it a little and at least mentally had decided that it must be from the Flash-kitty. The orange paper was about the same shade as the over shirt thing the woman normally wore. "This one next." Yachiru giggles as she holds it out. Eri nodded and took it in hand. She looked at the little tag that was tucked under the knot of the bow and found that it was from Yoruichi.

Once more, Eri was careful in unwrapping the present. It might seem odd to some, but it was just her way. She wasn't the sort to just tear into it. Sometimes people chose beautiful paper to wrap a present in and it just seemed a shame to ruin it. She was curious as to what this long, slim box might contain. She opened the lid and moved the top layer of golden tissue paper aside. Within were a pair of elegant but very wicked looking black and silver kanzashi. They were quite beautiful with the scrolling silver knot work design over the black lacquer… but the metal ends looked to be quite dangerous actually.

Yoruichi smirked. "Form and function Eri-chan… form and function." She chuckles. "Never know when you made need something to do double duty after all. Besides, I'd noticed that your hair's gotten a bit longer and I think those would truly look lovely if you pull your hair back." She pauses to regard the girl more fully. "Never forget that it is a woman's duty to be both beautiful and deadly." She says with a chuckle.

The last comment that Yoruichi made had Yachiru deciding that she wanted to be just like flash-kitty when she got bigger.

In response to Yoruichi's comment, someone quipped… "Kami help us all." It was dryly spoken so it was either Byakuya or Hitsugaya who had said it, but neither was owning up to it despite the laughter that had erupted due to it.

Once the laughter quieted Erisia turned towards Yoruichi. "Thank you very much, Yoruichi-san." he says with a polite bow towards the woman who had taught her shunpo. Of course in typical fashion, Yoruichi just smiled and waved the formality off.

Erisia saw no harm in letting Yachiru continue to choose which present she opened next. It seemed to amuse the tiny lieutenant to no end. As a bonus, it was keeping her occupied and out of the hair of the other guests. While Yachiru had waited for all the stuff with Yoruichi's present to be ended, she was bouncing. It was sometimes hard to stay still. Other times she could be still as stone - like when she was watching a really good fight… Of course most of the time she bounced then too. She couldn't help it - all that energy had to go somewhere - right?

Once Eri-chan was finished unwrapping Yoruichi's present and thanking the woman, Yachiru bounced back over to the present pile and picked up the one that was wrapped in shiny deep blue paper with a deep purple ribbon and beautifully done bow. The box was not as narrow as the one Yoruichi's present had come in but it was just a bit longer. She knew that this one was Yumi's and she didn't want to wait to see his present any longer. "This one next." Yachiru said with a big grin.

Erisia nods and takes the present. She wondered what it could possibly be of course to find out, all she had to do was open it. The bow was so beautiful that she tried very hard to keep it from coming undone… and she was actually quite successful at it. Once the bow and paper were out of the way, she opened the box and gentle finger tips pulled away the almost lavender colored tissue paper. Within the box was a folding fan. The wood lacquered in black and she couldn't yet tell the design of it.

She pulled it out of the box and carefully opened it. The material appeared to be black silk and there were the barest hints of teal, azure and wisteria purple running across it. You could really only see them when the light hit the fabric a certain way. It was understated and elegant and simply beautiful. For a moment, she was speechless. Yumi took the opportunity offered by the silence…

"Every woman should own at least one beautiful fan." He says with a smile that glittered.

Eri returned the smile. "This is, I think, the most beautiful fan I have ever seen. Thank you, Yumi." She says softly, still turning the fan this way and that to see how the colors would shift and shimmer. Yumi preened at the compliment of course. There were still presents to open however so Eri carefully closed the fan and put it back in its box then set it aside and motioned for Yachiru to choose another.

Yachiru made her way around the presents. She looked at the size of each of the ones remaining, as well as the color. It might not seem like it but she was actually trying to choose very well which present she gave Eri-chan next. Besides, it was fun being the one who got to decide the order. Of course the present had to catch her eye to be chosen next. This time, it was shimmering silver wrapping paper glinting in the light that did just that.

It was wider than the last ones and maybe even just a little bit bigger. The silver wasn't super shiny like foil, it was more frosted… and the ribbon was a wintergreen sort of color. Yachiru looked from the present to the gift givers… She reasoned that with the frosty silver paper and the wintergreen ribbon that was nearly the same color as that sash he always had his sword on that it must be Shiro's. She nodded to herself, picked it up and handed it to Eri. "Here Eri-chan, open Shiro-kun's next." She giggles.

Toshiro sighed at the nickname. He had stopped trying to get her to address him properly however. As much as he might wish for the formality due his station, he did not want to have to duel Kenpachi to get it. And that had been the terms Yachiru had set. She would only call him Captain Hitsugaya if he beat Ken-chan fair and square in a good duel. A duel that would have to make Ken-chan smile of course… if he wasn't having fun then it wasn't really worth the effort to remember to not call him Shiro-kun. Her logic was frightening at times. He settled for frowning in her direction, but that was all.

Inside the frosted foil like wrapping paper was a wooden box… a very beautiful wooden box actually…. And for several moments all she could do was look at the top of it, blinking. It was rosewood - at least that is what it appeared to be, but that was not the amazing thing. What was amazing was that burnished in the top of it was her mother's family crest. She looked up at Toshiro for a moment smiling a thank you just for that alone… he nodded and she turned her attention back to the box.

She finally tore her attention from the lid of the box, opening it to see what could possibly lay inside. Within was a very, very beautiful calligraphy set. It had everything she would need and it was all done in rosewood. It was something that amused her considering that the tanto Yachiru had gotten for her was of the same wood. She'd had calligraphy sets before of course - her mother had after all made certain that she was well versed in the old art form, but she had never worked with one as complete or as nice as this one.

"You will find that you will have a need for that both at the Academy and after when you join a squad. The nicer sets seem to hold up much better. I've had mine for a few decades now and the only thing I have had to replace is the ink." Hitsugaya comments. He was half lounging, looking oddly casual for someone so serious most of the time… but then this was supposed to be a more relaxed atmosphere…

"I gave one to Matsumoto just after she became my Lieutenant… but I don't think she's ever pulled it out of the drawer she shoved it in much less used it. It's quite a pity." He comments. "I hope you will at least find a use for it."

Erisia nods and smiles. "My mother taught me traditional calligraphy and I have tried to keep up with it. None of the sets I ever owned were even remotely like this one though. It's beautiful. Thank you, Captain Hitsugaya." She says with a smile. He gives a customary nod in response to her thanks. At least she seemed to truly appreciate it…


	25. The Party Part III

Assuming the present selecting position once again, Yachiru hummed to herself as she perused the remaining gifts. ~ Hmmm ~ She pondered to herself. That one! She grabbed a shiny red bag that had just decided to pop out to her and bounded back over to Eri-chan. "Next one." Yachiru giggles. "I think it's from Pineapple head." She muses. Erisia looks at the little card, a smile lifting the corner of her lips at Yachiru's nickname… "Yes, it is from Renji." Erisia chuckles.

She opens the bag. Inside was an assortment of snacks and goodies that wouldn't spoil. She began to pull them out, setting them on the table beside her and shaking her head no when Yachiru asked if she could have some. "The next time I'm back we'll go shopping and we'll get you some of your own." Erisia promised the girl. "I'll hold you to that Eri-chan." Yachiru says with a grin and Eri nods.

There were other things in the bag as well. Once past the snacks, she discovered a package of the miraculously strong hair ties that Renji used and from what he'd said he hadn't actually had one break in battle yet. It was the last thing in the bag that impressed her the most. It was a hand carved figure of a panther crouched to pounce. Eri felt a ripple of satisfaction come from Kumori. "Thank you Renji… and Kumori thanks you for the carving as well."

He nods. "Figured everyone would be getting you all sorts of things and at first I didn't really know what to get I have to be honest. I was just going to stick with the snacks at first. They don't make kitchen raids easy just to warn you." He chuckles. "Then I got the idea for the carving. I've been doing it for a fairly long time. Started it as just a way to pass rainy days when I was a kid… I've gotten pretty decent at it and can make something small fairly quick and since I'd gotten the idea, I figured why not?" He explains.

Eri was taken aback just slightly that Renji had actually carved it for her… Kumori was even more pleased… Her 'big brother' was a good guy…even if he was annoying at times…

"Seeing as how long you're hair's gotten I also decided to get you some of the hair ties I use. The 12th squad makes them so they don't just snap in the middle of the kind of fighting we get up to." He chuckles. "Since you'll be in training at the Academy I figured they might come in handy… and then I added a few more snacks." He laughs.

A few snickers went around the table. "Leave it to Abarai to think with his stomach." Hitsugaya quipped.

Maybe he had been thinking with his stomach for some of it… but at least he'd been thinking about the gift he had gotten for her… He knew what the Academy was like after all and if he thought she might appreciate snacks, she wasn't going to argue. Of course the carving would be her favorite of the presents Renji had gotten for her but that was beside the point. From snacks to hair ties to carving she thought it was all very thoughtful of him no matter what everyone else thought.

As soon as Erisia had returned everything to the bag it had come out of, Yachiru went quickly back to task perusing the pile of remaining presents. It wasn't long before a smaller package she had missed before caught her eye. She'd likely missed it because it was so small and it seemed to have been eclipsed by Shiro's and Renji's presents. The wrapping was a very soft aqua color and on top of it was a very delicate plum colored bow. Her small hand reached out and plucked the smaller box from the pile. As violent as Yachiru could be and as delicate as she didn't seem, she could be very, very gentle when there was a need to be…

She pondered for several long moments who could be behind this little present. She had been making a game of guessing who the gift giver was based off the wrapping paper aloe and she hadn't been wrong yet. So, who was it then? Of the people left 'Taro-kun and Riki-kun were out - they might be softies but this seemed too delicate for something they'd think of… Byakushi was out too, she just had a feeling… and she'd counted the presents against the number of people and with the number of gift givers, there was one present too few on the pile… She wondered idly what Byakushi had hiding up his sleeves.

So, with the boys all out, that left Momo-chan and Braid-chan. Honestly could really be either… Yachiru looked back at the pile. There was a present wrapped in softly shimmering white paper with an iridescent bow and there was a pretty silk flower tied in with the bow… Hmmm that one had to be Braid-chan's. So that meant that this one was Momo-chan's. Satisfied that she'd figured it out she bounces over to Erisia. "Momo-chan's present next." Yachiru announces. By now, everyone was being amused by Yachiru's selection process and the subsequent guessing game that followed. Who had known that they would be having dinner and a show?

The small box when opened revealed a silver pendant on a matching chain. On one side was the kanji for friendship and on the other, the kanji for luck. It made Erisia smile to think that she'd so 'quickly' made a friend in Hinamori. She liked the dual sentiment too. In training together with Momo she'd come to be rather fond of the girl. She was very smart though she was often more quiet and reserved… but there was a fire in her friend as well… One that had nearly been snuffed out but it seemed to finally be recovering… and that was a very good thing.

"Thank you very much Momo." She says with a smile.

Three visible presents left and four remaining gift givers. Byakushi definitely had to be up to something, of that much, Yachiru was certain. The present had either been too large to wrap or he wanted to wait until everyone else was gone to give it to her. She couldn't imagine why he'd need privacy though so she was more inclined to believe that his present had for some reason been incapable of being wrapped.

So, she focused on pondering the remaining presents. Yachiru was certain that the white wrapped present was from Braid-chan. So that left two, unfortunately the two remaining left her with a small dilemma. While one was much larger than the other, the presents were wrapped almost identically. Both were wrapped in gray paper. The only difference was in the bows. One was a grayish shade of green and the other was red.

So, if Byakushi's present wasn't out here and the white one was Braid-chan's… then that meant that these were from 'Taro-kun and Riki-kun. But which present was from which guy? She looked from the presents to the guys to the presents to the guys to the presents and back again. She was just about to give up when Rikichi moved to answer a question Renji asked him and the movement made her notice the red beads in his hair. Yachiru smirked and turned towards the presents and grabbed the one with the red bow.

"Here, Eri-chan. Open Rikichi's next." She urges as he holds it out to Erisia. With a chuckle and a smile, Eri takes it and undoes the red bow. She peels off the paper and then opens the box. Inside were gloves that looked like they would be soft, well-fitted and oddly sturdy despite how delicate they seemed. She was a little confused however…

"You're an artist right? Well some of the stuff, the practicing with the swords all the time and everything could really hurt your hands if you're not used to it. I thought it might be a good idea to get you something that could protect your hands so that you could keep doing the artwork you seem to love so much." He explains.

It made Erisia smile… that was a really thoughtful present and she expressed as much. Rikichi was left blushing. It couldn't be helped really. He wasn't used to that level of attention. Of course whether Rikichi knew it or not he had not only impressed Erisia, but also the lieutenant and captain of his squad. The boy had paid attention to Eri more so than they had thought and he had proved to be very thoughtful… There were a lot of things that went into being a member of the 6th squad… and they were glad to see that Rikichi was becoming more well rounded… Not just trying to hang on his idol's coat tails… But also being himself in the world he'd gotten himself into. There was a good bit of promise there.

Yachiru picked up Hanataro's present next. It was much bigger than the ones she'd picked up before. Not heavy, just bigger and rectangular in shape. As small as she was, it was a little awkward for her to carry, but she didn't let that stop her. She was a member of the 11th after all.

"Taro-kun's next." Yachiru called out cheerfully as she bounded over with the present.

Upon opening it, four decently sized sketchbooks were revealed. They weren't too large, just a good size for where she'd be going. Eri's face lit up, sketching and art were a passion of hers after all. "Thank you very much Hanataro. I am sure I will find time to make good use of these." She says in a cheerful tone.

Hanataro perked up at all the cheerful, positive energy being sent his way. Unohana smiled, she couldn't help it… So long she had watched him struggle… This experience wasn't just good for Erisia, it was good for her 7th seat as well. She was glad to see him finally seeming to be more at ease with things at last. It had after all been a few decades now.

She tried to look out for her squad members as much as she could. She was kind of motherly in a way, but she was also a warrior… She wanted them to be strong and capable and she had been truly worried for Hanataro. With him being picked on so much she had worried that he would never have the chance, the opportunity to reach the potential that she sensed in him. She was glad to see that finally changing.

Yachiru knew there was only one visible present remaining and she knew who was responsible for it. However, she decided to have a little fun with Byakushi first. For a moment she pondered exactly how to go about it. Once her mind was made up, she moved. She appeared suddenly on the table before him. Byakuya blinked at her a moment, frowning at the fact that she was standing on his table.

She rocked on her feet from heel to toe and back again - back and forth… "So… Byakushi…" She begins. The noble raised a brow at her tone…

"There's one present left out there and I know it isn't from you. So, the question is… what exactly are you up to?" She asks with a giggle.

"I am sure I do not know what you mean by that, Lieutenant." he says in a neutral tone.

Yachiru could only smirk at that. "Off duty it's Yachiru, Byakushi." She chides him playfully. "Anyway, I figure there's only two reasons why there isn't a present out of there from you, for us to see. You're either going to wait until we all leave… Or for some reason you couldn't wrap it…" She muses. She stopped rocking and began to pace a small space of the empty table… Byakuya merely watched her, waiting for her to get to the point.

"So which is it?" She asks to no one in particular. Byakuya looks about to answer but Yachiru starts speaking again. Byakuya looks about to answer but Yachiru starts to speak again.

"While you seem to like Eri-chan more than I think I've seen you like anyone in a really long time, I don't think you got her a secret present. You're still not… okay from… **you know**… yet." As she speaks that last part she leans in and actually speaks in a careful tone - for her. Byakuya blinked at her for a moment. While they all suspected that there was far more to Yachiru than what they were allowed to see, to have a glimpse into her more perceptive nature was slightly startling. It seemed he would have to keep a closer eye upon her than he thought.

She watched him for a moment, rocking on her feet once again. "So, I think that you couldn't wrap it up for some reason. I really hope I'm right because I wanna know what you got for Eri-chan. So, I'm going to give her Braid-chan's present and then you better have a present to give her Byakushi, because she's nice and she deserves it." Yachiru explains before hopping down to retrieve Unohana's gift.

Everyone had been watching the interaction with curiosity and amusement. Yoruichi had a broad grin on her face as she surveyed the scene. "I like that little lieutenant." Yoruichi chuckles. It ended up garnering her a glare from Byakuya.

"Don't start, demon cat." Byakuya warned under his breath. Of course that only made Yoruichi chuckle harder. At least that fiery boy was still in her old friend. So long as she could get him to react, so long as he could still call her demon cat, she wouldn't worry about him too much…


	26. The Conclusion

**Author's Note:** Forgive me for not updating sooner. Real life has been crazy lately. I've been writing on pieces of notebook paper but I've not had time to organize them or transfer them to my computer. I hope this chapter makes up for it... and if there's some slight OOCness from a certain someone forgive me... Also, this is the final chapter of Another Door Opens. The story will be continued in another story which I have titled Pathways... While I thought about keeping it here as a part of Another Door Opens, it just feels right to conclude this aspect of the story. However, I am not done with Erisia's story. I have many other things written. I just feel like this 'chapter' of her life is closed and the next deserves it's own story... I hope you will stay with me to read it as I post it... If you enjoy this story, please review it so I know to continue it for more than just my own personal enjoyment. To everyone that has read and reviewed thus far, I thank you. You are the reason that this story has continued as long as it has. Now, on with the story.

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Yachiru made her way over to the last visible present. It stood taller than the others, but she wouldn't say that it was the largest present she had ever seen. It was wrapped in a shimmering white paper and adorned with a silvery white bow and a silk Iris. If you knew anything about the significance of flowers, the meanings of them, Irises stood for: faith, wisdom, valor and friendship. So maybe she had been paying a little attention to some of what Braid-chan said in some of her ikebana classes… maybe… but only just a little.

She carried it over to Erisia and it was a slightly funny sight. The small, pink haired lieutenant effortlessly carrying a white present that was easily almost as big as she was. Well maybe not quite that large but it was certainly a noticeable size difference - or rather lack there of. She set it down in front of Eri and then hopped up on something nearby enough to give her a better vantage. Byakuya sighed at how Yachiru seemed to think everything was a seat… Though he supposed that it could be worse…

Erisia carefully took the flowers off of the package and undid the bow. Inside the package were a number of small packages. Some of them held herbal teas and the rest of it formed up a rather comprehensive first aid kit. Leave it to Unohana. "The teas will help you relax. I remember what it was like at the Academy. Sometimes you need a nice way to unwind after a stressful day. There are also some herbal things for the bath as well." Unohana pointed out.

"Sometimes the bath is the only getaway you will have access to." She chuckles.

"Thank you very much Unohana-san." Erisia says with a polite bow. The older woman smiled and inclined her head in acknowledgement. Unohana liked Erisia - but then again most of the people who had met and had any opportunity to get to know the girl did like her.

Finally, it was time for Byakuya's present. Yachiru hopped down from her perch and stood expectantly before him, her hands on her hips. "Okay Byakushi - where is it?" She demanded, tapping a tiny foot. The picture was amusing to say the least. Her in so serious a pose trying to look stern. Almost everyone there was chuckling or trying to hide it. Even Byakuya's eyes softened at Yachiru's display.

"As you wish, Yachiru." Byakuya says, inclining his head and gesturing to a servant. Not much later, two beautiful mahogany chests were brought in. One large one, one small one both decorated with blue bows atop them. The chests were fairly simple until you got to the panel where the locks were. Each panel was a recreation of Eri's family symbol.

"It came to my attention that you had nothing carry your clothes and such in aside from your little wheeled suitcase." Is all he says.

"They are very lovely, Byakuya… thank you." It looked like Erisia was about to see more but she stopped herself before she went into the self deprecating again. He always seemed to get this strange look when she started that and she wanted this to be a nice party.

"Okay Byakushi, you did good. I won't have Ken-chan hurt you." Yachiru says with a smile…

"Thank you for that kindness." He says in response. No one really ever wanted to spar with Kenpachi - save for Ikkaku and Yumichika, but they were both members of the 11th squad. From there the party continued… there was dessert and talking and a few games until it was finally time for everyone to part ways…

Eri was tired but she was kind of happy. She hadn't really realized that she had forged such connections with these people. She was nervous and scared for what was to come but she was excited too. She had walked to the gate to see off Captain Unohana and the last of the people who had come to the party. She returned to the house… Byakuya was standing there. She quickly attempted to banish any odd thoughts that tried to come to her mind… But she could not deny that she was going to miss him. As cool and aloof as he was, he was still someone she valued her connection with - whatever that connection was.

"Did you enjoy the party?" He inquired, his tone hard to read.

"I did. Thank you for hosting it. It has been a very long time since anyone has celebrated anything… with me or for me. I had not realized how much I missed it. After my mother passed away I suppose I became accustomed to it. Celebrating my birthday on my own and things of that nature. It has been hard for me to connect with people I suppose. I shut down… kept people at arms length. It wasn't healthy but it was the only way I knew to deal with what I was feeling. I did not want to get hurt again." She explains.

"Well I think it is safe to say that you have made friends here. Are you worried at all about going to the Academy?" He inquires.

"I am excited… but yes I am nervous. This is very new to me. I am worried about the training more the fighting than anything else… I want to help people and I want to make sure that what happened to me doesn't happen to anyone else, but I do not know how much of a fighter I am going to be… we'll see I suppose. I have just gotten used to things around here and now I am going to have to leave and go to another new place… Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be able to just stay somewhere." She says softly.

Byakuya listened. He tried to think back to what he felt when he was about to go to the Academy, but his was a very different experience. He had been groomed for it, he had grown up knowing that he would end up there. Erisia did not have such a luxury. She had essentially been thrown into the deep end on this and he wasn't sure how well she would adapt to it. Social things were not his strong suit… but perhaps it was the events that had put he and Erisia together he did feel a connection to her.

He had grown accustomed to her being around and he was certainly going to miss speaking with her. He was going to miss her bringing lunch to the office for Renji and himself. Even the staff had said that they were going to miss her. Erisia was a unique woman and she had touched the lives of everyone she had met. She had forged a connection with people who were not generally prone to trusting quickly. He himself was a prime example. Ever since the loss of Hisana he had shut down and with the war going on around them they were all wary to trust people.

Though she was a gentle spirit, she was also fierce. There was such a strength within her… a very strong but outwardly gentle determination. She was scared but she was still going to go through with this. Her life had changed so much in such a short period of time and she wasn't running away. No one would have blamed her for saying she was overwhelmed and wanting to turn away… But somehow she was making herself go through with this, seeing it through.

"Whatever happens, Erisia you will always be welcome here. You may consider this your home for as long as you feel comfortable doing so. While you will be going to the Academy, things need not change completely. You will find your balance, that you have not turned away despite all that has happened to you speaks well for you. I am sure you will find where you belong… And there are a number of people now who will be all too happy to help you should you need it. Remember that."

She could not help but smile. "Thank you." She could not bring herself to say more. She was just overwhelmed. For so long she'd not had real friends or anyone to connect with beyond passing acquaintances and now she had made friends with some people who were very important in this new world she'd become a part of. She hadn't tried to. She'd just been herself and it was strange that while being herself had done nothing for her in the Living World that in Seireitei it had gained her friends and rather quickly. It was all very strange.

"I was not entirely forthcoming when Yachiru inquired as to my present for you. There is one other thing." Byakuya says in a softer tone than he usually used.

Erisia was surprised and it showed. It amused some inner hidden part of Byakuya. He motioned for her to follow him. He led her to his office within the home. Once there, he presented her with a scroll case, which garnered him a curious look. "Just open it, Erisia." He coaxed.

She carefully opened it and within was a scroll on which was a very beautiful example of traditional calligraphy. She read it and some of the things she recognized they were quotes, but they did not all belong together…

~There are only two mistakes one can make on the path to truth: not going all the way and not starting. ~

~To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.~

There were a few more quotes both from Buddhist teachings and from other things that were not unfamiliar to her.. But the last one more than any spoke to her perhaps because of its relevance in the here and now. ~A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.~

"They are things that throughout my lessons stuck with me. Wise words that I find myself returning to even now. The path you are starting on is not an easy one. There will be times when it is hard for you to clear your mind and maintain your focus… My grandfather once told me that nothing worth doing is ever easy. That there will be times when you may want to quit… What is important is not how hard it is or how much you wish to quit… But that you find the strength within to stand your ground and keep going no matter how hard things seem. You have not turned back yet and I do not believe you will. Do not forget how much you have already come through Erisia…" He explains.

She could only nod. "I will most certainly try my best." She says softly.

"Then you will not likely fail. You should get some rest, tomorrow you start down a new path." He reminds her.

"Thank you, Byakuya… for everything." She says softly. He bowed and turned to retire to his own rooms.

The next day, she rose early as she always did. She had packed her things before she allowed herself to go to sleep so everything was ready come the morning… Everything but herself. She was not entirely certain that she was mentally ready for this. However the time to leave was here and she could not, would not allow herself to turn and run away now. Byakuya walked her to the gate where one of the servants was waiting to take Erisia and her belongings to the Academy.

She did something then in that last parting moment that were it not guaranteed that she would not be seeing him for a decent amount of time she might not have done… before she moved to get into the transportation being provided for her, she closed the distance between Byakuya and herself. Timidly, somewhat fearful of crossing any real boundaries, she hugged him. "Thank you." Came quietly, almost absently from her lips… She quickly let go, bowed and retreated to her transportation… leaving Byakuya standing there, mask still unreadable as ever…

He bowed and gestured for the servant to take Erisia for the Academy. As he stood there watching them go, he could not help but feel a slight chill… It would seem that Erisia was not the only one who was going to have to adapt to this new change…


End file.
